Law professor Peter Henning is quoted in an article about the Conrad Black case. Federal prosecutors are at risk of losing their case against Black, formerly of Hollinger International, by plying the jury with too many details that are hard to understand. "At this point, the government is caught in the minutiae of the case," Henning observed. The article ran in many Canadian newspapers

Morris Goodman, an evolutionary biologist at the Wayne State University School of Medicine, was interviewed in a story about chimpanzees' extraordinary ability to adapt to evolutionary changes per a study released by the University of Michigan. "(The study) challenges the idea that there was a great burst of adaptive change in humans, one that was more profound than in other primates or mammals," Goodman said.

A story about tests to promote occupant safety in auto crashes mentions the longstanding crash test program at Wayne State. "We are changing our philosophy of designing cars for crash test dummies to designing for humans," said King Yang, a biomechanical engineering professor who has been working on human computer models here for almost 20 years. Researchers know how to crash cars and measure the impact, but have not been able to predict accurately the degree to which delicate organs can withstand severe impact. "We still have a lot of things we don't understand," Yang pointed out. Automakers want to develop the most detailed model of the human body every attempted. Yang's models already have been used in the auto industry and elsewhere, even by brain surgeons. A sidebar accompanying the article has information about WSU's history in studying car crashes and features sketches of crash test dummies.

A feature story about weekend events notes that jazz pianists Matt Michaels and Cliff Monear, both associated with Wayne State University, will be play dueling pianos during an April 15 concert at Livonia-based Schoolcraft College. The concert will benefit the Michigan Jazz Festival. The article mentions that Michaels was the director of jazz studies at WSU for many years before retiring last year. Monear is a Steinway piano representative and an adjunct faculty member here who teaches piano.

Steven Levitt, author of the best-seller Freakonomics, will speak at 9 a.m. April 26 in the Community Arts Auditorium at Wayne State University. The speech will be followed by a program explaining the university's new five-year strategic plan. Contact information and a Web link are provided.

An extensive feature story focuses on Wayne State University's Hilberry Theatre - its history, development, people behind the scenes and a listing of the current season's offerings. Included in the article are comments by Eric Messing, publicist for the Hilberry Repertory Theatre Company, director of marketing for WSU theatres and third-year theatre manager; third-year actor Christopher Bohan; second-year actor Morgan Chard; third-year stage manager Candace Hemphill; second-year costume designer Christina Tomlinson; and scenic designer Brad Darvas. Photos of current staff members and former Director of WSU Theatres from 1945-1985, Leonard Leone, are included. Under Leone's leadership, the Wayne State Theatre restored and reopened the historic Bonstelle Theatre, created the Hilberry Theatre and established the nation's first and only existing graduate repertory company.

Tensions between the Detroit Medical Center and Wayne State University are mounting as Michigan State University's May 1 visit to the former DMC Hutzel Women's Hospital draws nearer. Hutzel is one of three sites the Michigan State board of trustees plans to visit as part of a search for a site to host a satellite campus of its College of Osteopathic Medicine. DMC and Wayne State are at odds mainly over whether there is capacity for additional clinical training of new Michigan State medical students at DMC sites. As part of its bid to host the campus, Detroit Medical Center is offering third- and fourth-year clinical training slots at DMC Sinai-Grace Hospital in Detroit and DMC Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital in Commerce Township. Wayne State said adding students from other schools will hurt the quality of clinical training available to the 30 new medical students the university added to its class of 270 last fall. "Guarantees are not worth anything to me," said Robert Frank, executive vice dean for Wayne State's School of Medicine. "The rules are changing on a daily basis."

A brief notes that Dean Frank Wu says he plans to resign at the end of May 2008, citing family concerns.

Kifah Jayyousi, a former Detroit Public Schools administrator who has advanced engineering degrees from Wayne State, where he also has taught, will go to trial this week in a high-profile terrorism case. He is accused of helping create a North American network that recruited, bankrolled and equipped Islamic extremists to fight overseas. However, Jayyousi's attorney said his client is a law-abiding American who is guilty of nothing more then expressing controversial yet constitutionally-protected views. The story ran originally in the Detroit Free Press.

Columnist Cooper writes about Nathaniel Abraham, 21, who was convicted as an adult for a murder he committed when he was 11, and has since been released from juvenile custody. He is living in the Detroit area, working for a construction company and hopes to get his life back together. The column mentions that Abraham has enrolled at Wayne State for the fall and plans to study business management and English.

Columnist Laura Berman writes about Frank Wu\'s announced resignation this week as dean of Wayne State's Law School. Officially, Berman writes, he offered the explanation that his wife, Carol Izumi, a Georgetown University Law School dean, had health problems. Izumi, who has lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, underwent wrist surgery and will have another operation next month. Increasingly, she needs more help than a commuting husband 500 miles away can provide, he says. Berman points out that Wu\'s announcement also came close on the heels of the news that the Wayne State law school had been downgraded -- from Tier 3 to Tier 4 status -- by U.S. News & World Report. She writes that Wu persuasively argues that this status will be short-lived, he also says he needs to take responsibility for the problem." Berman further writes that the passage of Proposal 2 that "Wu fought with considerable eloquence and visible, public passion on radio talk shows, at public forums - wherever he could," is also "a factor." \"I love the law school. And what I will regret the most is not (the U.S. News & World Report problem) but the likely lack of diversity\" now and in the future, Wu says. A photo of Wu is included.

In another story about Dean Frank Wu's resignation, it is noted that the law school faculty voted last week to shrink the number of students admitted from 220 to a class of 185, beginning this fall. The decrease means higher selectivity, which is a factor in the U.S. News & World Report national rankings that lowered Wayne State's Law School to a Tier 4. \"The decline in the rankings is attributable to an error in employment data,\" Wu said, noting the administration did not pressure him to step down. \"I take personal responsibility for that. It\'s an error that has a significant detrimental effect and as the dean, I\'m the one who is ultimately responsible.\" Wayne State has taken measures to ensure employment data is reported accurately in the future, Wu said. The survey sent out to graduates is less confusing and students have incentives to reply. So far, 2006 data show an employment rate of 85 percent or higher and the response rate is 97 percent, Wu said.

Wayne State University increasingly concerned as DMC emerges as leading contender to host satellite As a decision nears on who will host Michigan State University\'s College of Osteopathic Medicine satellite campus in Metro Detroit, a turf battle is shaping up between a leading contender, the Detroit Medical Center, and its longtime teaching partner, the Wayne State University School of Medicine. WSU medical school administrators are expressing concerns about having DMC host the osteopathic school. They sent out a mass e-mail late Thursday to faculty, students and staff with details about DMC\'s proposal and contact numbers for the osteopathic school\'s board of trustees. Executive Vice Dean Dr. Robert Frank said there isn\'t enough room for the 50 MSU students who would initially enroll at the campus, especially since Wayne State expanded its program this year. \"This campus can\'t handle it,\" he said Thursday. \"Adding 50 students would make some student groups too big to teach effectively in clinical settings."

Wayne State University law professor Peter Henning, a former Securities and Exchange Commission attorney, commented about Dow Chemical's firing of two senior employees Thursday saying it learned that the pair had engaged in unauthorized talks with outsiders about a sale of the company. Henning said Dow \"is drawing a line in the sand and saying that we\'re not for sale. They are sending a message to private equity don\'t come snooping around here.\"

Jerry Herron, Wayne State University professor of American Studies, comments about the Don Imus controversy which led to the controversial talk show host's firing Thursday by CBS. What does it mean that Imus has joined the ranks of celebrities like Mel Gibson and Michael Richards, who have said something hurtful? \"It\'s certainly not good that people feel insulted, hurt, accused, abused by the use of language. But that we\'re talking about the things the language refers to is a good and healthy thing. ...Americans are talking about things that are fundamental to our culture, that is, we tend not to want to be close to somebody who\" isn\'t just like us.\"

Communication barriers are the theme of Irish playwright Brian Friel\'s play \"Translations,\" but the new production by Wayne State University\'s Hilberry Theatre takes the message a couple of steps further. Director Lavinia Hart has added \"shadow signing,\" a theatrical method that incorporates sign language into the flow of the story for the benefit of hearing-impaired viewers. She also has commissioned original music by WSU composer Chris Collins and inspired by 19th-century Irish and British tunes to underscore the conflict in the story between the two cultures. The signers, instead of standing at the side of the stage, will be costumed and will follow -- or \"shadow\" -- the actors, becoming part of the choreography of the play. Hart, who used shadow signers for a production of \"The Miracle Worker\" at the Bonstelle, WSU\'s undergraduate theater, says the audience quickly accepts the extra people on stage, and so do the actors. \"Translations\" opens at 8 p.m. today and runs in rotating repertory through May 19 at the Hilberry Theatre. Contact and ticket information is provided. A photo of cast members Dan McDougall, Caroline Price and Christopher M. Bohan is included.

Experts caution against blaming an act of violence such as the Troy shooting solely on bipolar disorder, which is treatable with medication and psychotherapy. \"It is not that every act of crime which is committed is by people who have some sort of brain disorder,\" says Dr. Alireza Amirsadri, a Wayne State University School of Medicine psychiatrist. \"There are many people who are of sound mind and have good jobs ... who will do stupid things.\" But people with bipolar disorder also are likely to be smart, creative, funny and sensitive. \"This isn\'t a disorder that only results in negative acts,\" says Vaibhav Diwadkar, assistant professor in Wayne State University School of Medicine\'s psychiatry department.

Luther Lindler of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Philip Cunningham of Wayne State University and Joan Rose of Michigan State University are scheduled to speak at a conference Saturday at Wayne State titled \"New Risks and New Defenses: The Technology of Bioterrorism.\" The Michigan branch of the American Society for Microbiology is sponsoring the conference. Registration begins at 8 a.m., followed by the conference at 9 at the WSU School of Medicine. Cost is $25 for society members, $40 for nonmembers. For students, it\'s $5 and $10.

Kifah Jayyousi, identified as a graduate and former teacher at Wayne State University, and a former Detroit schools administrator, is scheduled to go on trial Monday in Miami on terrorism charges. He allegedly helped create a North American network that recruited, bankrolled and equipped Islamic extremists to fight overseas. Jayyousi\'s court-appointed lawyer says his client is a law-abiding American who is guilty of nothing more than expressing controversial -- but constitutionally protected -- views. Mumtaz Usmen, chairman of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at WSU, where Jayyousi obtained a master\'s degree and doctorate in civil engineering and taught in 2000-01, said he also was mystified. \"He never ... showed anything to us that we considered questionable or improper,\" said Usmen, who described Jayyousi as popular with students.

Grosse Pointe Art Center: \"Avant-garde,\" is featuring art works by Wayne State University students, through April 27. Noon-5 p.m. Wed.-Sat., noon-7 p.m. Contact information is provided.