Detroit Lions quarterback Josh McCown and offensive lineman Barry Stokes will serve as instructors at the Offense-Defense Football Camp held at Wayne State University from June 24-28. During the five-day camp, junior athletes are divided into groups based on their age, size, weight and abilities to work on offense and defense fundamentals. At the end of the camp, the athletes compete in the Offense-Defense Bowl to showcase their skills. Registration and contact information are provided.

2007 marks the 30th anniversary of the Michigan Art Therapy Association which works to promote the therapeutic use of art. The conference celebrates past accomplishments, but speakers will also talk about current work and future trends in the field. The event takes place Friday-Saturday, May 11-12, at Wayne State University. Contact information is provided.

A brief notes that at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 29, the Warren Concert Band will present a concert with the Warren Community Chorus. This year marks the 25th anniversary celebration of the dually hosted spring concert. Douglas A. Bianchi, director of bands at Wayne State University, will conduct the Warren Concert Band. Ticket and contact information are provided.

Grand Valley State University President Thomas Haas believes all 15 of Michigan's public universities should remain together on one funding bill. The debate on whether or not to separate Wayne State University, Michigan State University and the University of Michigan from the other 12 are the "wrong questions to spend time on," said Haas. "Instead, we should be talking about how to enhance collaboration among all15 campuses."

According to a recent poll, students at Wayne State University, Michigan State University and the University of Michigan have been debating which Presidents have been good and bad. Students ranked Bill Clinton ahead of Ronald Reagan and Gerald R. Ford, but behind Abraham Lincoln, George Washington and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Of the 640 students polled, 68 percent said Clinton was among the very best, while 4 percent said he was terrible. President George W. Bush was ranked terrible by 59 percent. "I can't find a job to save my soul," said Cassandra Marbury, 23, a WSU psychology sophomore. "And my husband's second tour of duty in Iraq just got extended by four months." WSU senior Mitchell Owens, 21, rated Lincoln as one of the best presidents. "He made decisions based on what was best for the country."

The Wayne State University Alumni Association has launched an e-newsletter called Let's Go! and has named Marguerite Rigby as publisher. The staff includes editor Michelle Franzen Martin and managing editor Sarah Freeman. Let's Go! will be published monthly, coinciding with the launch of WorldWideWayne (a.k.a. W3). Alumni can subscribe to Let's Go! at www.alumni.wayne.edu/W3. Story includes a photo of Rigby.

SenSound LLC has announced that it will receive a $100,000 grant from the U.S. Air Force to fund research into the acoustic characteristics of jet plumes resulting from high-performance aircraft engines. SenSound is a Wayne State University start-up company. A link in the IT Report entry takes readers to a news release that gives details of the six-month project.

On May 2, Wayne State University will break ground on a new engineering facility specializing in innovations in sustainable energy technology health care, biotech and other high tech industries. University officials anticipate the $27.3 million Marvin I Danto Engineering Development Center becoming the hub for Metro Detroit companies to develop technology, create new economy jobs and spin-off companies.

Wayne State University unveiled its new strategic plan, which calls for an increase in student, building a campus experience and enhancing its reputation as a research institution, according to the this brief write-up. A couple of items from the strategic plan Web site also were included, along with a link to the site.

Nicole Matisse, who will graduate from the University of Michigan this summer at the age of 19, has enrolled for the fall term at the WSU Law School. But she says the Law School has indicated she won't be able to graduate in one year, as she did from U-M. CNN.Com ran the transcript of a video interview with Matisse by WDIV-TV reporter Paula Tutman, who finished the interview with, "Next stop: Wayne State University Law School, where she'll enter as one of the youngest students ever."

As part of Wayne State University's effort to boost its engagement in the urban community, a campus lecture was held Thursday by best-selling author Steven Levitt. \"Freakonomics\" author Levitt was the featured speaker at a free, public event marking the symbolic implementation of the university\'s vision and strategic plan, Wayne State leaders say. Approved by Wayne State\'s Board of Governors last year, the strategic plan is a blueprint of goals for the urban university through 2011. Initiatives include improving Wayne State\'s stature as a premier research university, growing enrollment to 40,000 students, increasing full-time faculty, expanding residential population and forging better collaborations with the community.

Wayne State University College of Engineering Dean Ralph Kummler talked about the planned groundbreaking on May 2 for the Marvin I. Danto Engineering Development Center. The interview aired during "All Things Considered" on April 26 and "Morning Edition" on April 27.

Chief of Staff Andrea Roumell Dickson was interviewed by WDET's Quinn Klinefelter about the university's five-year strategic plan, which was unveiled Thursday. Officials say the plan includes many things the university has promoted in past plans: Recruiting excellent faculty members, increasing the number of students who live on campus and expanding the use of technology. Roumell Dickson acknowledged that the goals are made more difficult given the state's struggling economy, noting that these are challenging times economically for non-profit organizations and for higher education. She said increasing the university's endowment is one way to become more financially viable for the future.

WWJ's Pat Vitale and WDET's Al Mazurek provided on-site coverage of Steven Levitt's lecture at Wayne State University on April 26. Levitt, author of the New York Times bestseller "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything," was the featured speaker at an event that marked the official implementation of Wayne State's Strategic Action Plan. Levitt also appeared on WDET's "Detroit Today" show following the lecture. He commented that Detroit is facing a tough set of problems today, particularly the public school system and the decline of the automotive industry.

A brief item in the business section notes that Wayne State plans to break ground May 2 on a $27.3 million engineering facility that will focus on research and development in the area of alternative energy technology. The Marvin I. Danto Engineering Development Center will be a 3-story building attached to the current College of Engineering Building. Construction is expected to be completed by fall of 2008. Financing will be provided by $15 million in state appropriations, a $3 million donation from Troy businessman Marvin Danto and $3.2 million in private gifts. The write-up mentions that the university's new strategic plan would be announced this morning following a 9 a.m. keynote address by "Freakonomics" author Steven Levitt. A later update in the newspaper's online version points out that the university's strategic plans call for launching an honors college, recruiting top-tier faculty, increasing student enrollment to 40,000, enhancing WSU's reputation as a research university, building a stronger campus community, improving relations with the city of Detroit and finding additional ways to build revenue. A third item mentions the Steven Levitt speech, which was open to the public, at 9:00 this morning.

This online news briefs site from WWJ Radio includes an item about the planned May 2 groundbreaking on campus for the Marvin Danto Engineering Development Center. Details are given regarding planned uses for the building.

The presidents of Wayne State, Michigan State and the University of Michigan brought their campaign for a two-tiered university appropriations system to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Higher Education at Saginaw Valley State University on April 19. Leaders from some universities opposed to the plan also addressed the committee. "Because of our intensive research work and robust technology transfer, Wayne State, MSU and U-M play a unique role in fostering the innovation that can, and will, fuel new industries for Michigan," said U-M President Mary Sue Coleman. She mentioned that the larger schools do not want to take funding away from the other universities. A photo of President Irvin D. Reid, MSU President Lou Anna Simon and Coleman addressing the legislators accompanies the story.

Harvey Hollins III, Wayne State University vice president for government and community relations, is quoted extensively in a story about the coalition of Michigan universities, a group organized to oppose a proposal by Gov. Jennifer Granholm to split off the big three universities -- the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Wayne State University -- from the higher education funding bill. Hollins said that the three research universities are significantly different than the other 12 Michigan public universities. \"What\'s doing this is the economy and what we\'re saying to the legislature on state funding is that we are concerned they are comparing apples to oranges.\" Greg Rosine, vice president of legislative affairs for Western Michigan University, also was quoted in the story. He said he agrees that the big three are different, but added that there are 15 universities and each is distinct from the other. Hollins pointed out that the big three universities each have a medical school and support major research operations that incur costs but also provide significant returns. He said the big three bring in about $1.3 billion a year in federal research money. Wayne State accounts for about $220 million annually. A photo of Hollins is included.

Eight regional Michigan universities launched a \"We Matter, Too!\" sticker campaign this week to protest special budget treatment for the state\'s Big Three universities. Calling themselves the OUR TEAM coalition, they are upset that Wayne State University, Michigan State University and University of Michigan want to be funded separately from the state\'s other public universities. MSU, U-M and WSU have been lobbying the state to fund them separately because of the magnitude of research they conduct -- 95 percent of all the state\'s research and development dollars -- which will ultimately help transform Michigan\'s economy, they say. They don\'t want to take away money from the other 12 state universities, they say, but their medical schools, technology transfer programs and $1.3 billion in research and development operations make them different.

These media outlets ran a brief calendar item about the scheduled candlelight remembrance ceremony tonight at 8:15 p.m. at Wayne State University's Gullen Mall.