A calendar listing item mentions that the WSU Law School's annual Treasure of Detroit Gala will be held at the Gem Theatre on March 24. Brief details and a contact number are given.

For the first time, Crittenton Hospital Medical Center will sponsor its own residency program in partnership with Wayne State University to train family medicine physicians. WSU's School of Medicine previously partnered with the Detroit Medical Center to provide family medicine residency training. While Wayne State still partners with the DMC for other specialties, the system does not have a focus on primary care, says Dr. Maryjean Schenk, chairwoman of the department of family medicine and public health sciences at WSU. Conversely, Crittenton has a long-term strategic plan for primary care, she says. Health Care Weekly Review also ran a brief about the partnership.

The Wayne State University Physician Group holds the 7th spot among physician organizations, according to the number of physicians included in each group. The WSU Physician's Group is noted as having 756 physicians, and hospital affiliations at the Detroit Medical Center, Karmanos Cancer Center, Oakwood Health System and Crittenton Hospital. A photo of Robert Mentzer Jr., chairman and CEO of the group, is included.

The Detroit Orientation Institute (DOI) at Wayne State University is taking applications for the spring session - April 17, 24, and May 1. Contact information is provided.

Wayne State University's recently named Detroit Urban Writer-in-Residence, Peter Markus, will lead a series of free writing workshops open to the public. The next one will be held April 3, 6 p.m.-8 p.m., in the David Adamany Undergraduate Library.

A report released Wednesday by the Michigan Civil Rights Commission finds that eight of 45 state programs may be in jeopardy or need change, because of Michigan's 2006 constitutional amendment banning race, ethnicity and gender preferences in university admissions and government employment or contracting. Those affected are: collective-bargaining agreements, the Commission on Spanish-Speaking Affairs, foster care, higher education programs, minority-owned and women-owned businesses, minority student grants, some single-business tax credits and special-needs adoption.

Senate Economic Development and Regulatory Reform Committee Chairman Alan Sanborn, R-Richmond, says he would like the Legislature to gain control of the $34.1 million that could be allocated in the 21st Century Jobs Fund's next round of awards. He made the comments last week after calling attention to project funding that he said illustrated wasteful and questionable government spending. Sanborn cites ties between members of a state board that approved the awards and entities that received the grants or loans. He points to Wayne State University connections with the Karmanos Cancer Institute, TechTown and others that received funding. He also mentions Michigan State University spinoffs that received funds and the University of Michigan's former or current staff, graduates, or spinoff technologies employed by companies that received Jobs Fund awards, among others. Sanborn says the connections represent conflicts of interest. Mike Shore, chief communications officer for the Michigan Economic Development Corp., says the Jobs Fund laws set forth a process that "guarantees absolute integrity" in the awards, prevents favoritism and shields against conflicts of interest.

The Hudson-Webber Foundation has offered Michigan State University's College of Osteopathic Medicine $250,000 if it locates its Southeast Michigan satellite campus at The Detroit Medical Center's (DMC) Hutzel Hospital, DMC CEO Michael Duggan said. MSU is seeking classroom space for up to 100 students. Duggan says Detroit's Midtown area makes sense as a specific location because the area already is geared to graduate students at Wayne State University and the University of Detroit Mercy. MSU's board also is considering proposals from Oakland University and Macomb Community College's University Center.

Wayne State's Detroit Orientation Institute (DOI) is now accepting applications for the spring session scheduled on three consecutive Tuesdays, April 17, 24 and May 1. Background information is offered about the tours and sessions, and contact information is provided. WWJ aired brief mentions about the DOI program during its hourly newscasts throughout the day.

A brief notes the Wayne State University Technology Transfer - MIT Enterprise Forum joint event on tech transfer will be held on Wednesday from 5 to 8 p.m. at TechTown.

A brief mentions that Laura McCloskey has been named director of the Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute at Wayne State University. She was formerly an associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice, in Philadelphia.

President Irvin D. Reid will discuss Wayne State's alternative energy research and degree programs at the 10th International Conference on Energy and the Environment in Luxor, Egypt, this week. Several WSU faculty members also will give presentations, as will Egypt's minister of higher education and scientific research and the host country's minister of electricity and energy. Wayne state is a founding member of the biannual conference.

Jerry Herron, director of the Honors Program and a Detroit historian, is quoted prominently in a front-page story on the history of the Woodward Corridor. "I guess if I had to take somebody who had never seen Detroit, I'd start at the river and drive straight up Woodward," he observed. "I can't think of a more expedient way to show the city."

A story about the upcoming federal trial of newspaper mogul Conrad Black on a variety of charges related to fraudulent business practices includes expert comment by professor Peter Henning of the WSU Law School. A former Securities and Exchange Commission lawyer, Henning commented on whether or not the U.S. government has a strong case against Black. Before his ouster, Black headed a large newspaper empire that had been Canada's largest newspaper company. The corporation also owned the Chicago Sun-Times. The wire story ran widely in Canadian newspapers and media Web sites.

While being interviewed on today's morning show, James Lipton, host of BRAVO network's "Inside the Actors Studio," mentioned that he attended Wayne State and observed that it is "a great school." He talked about having dinner with President Reid in New York recently and pointed out that his relationship with the university is "growing." The WKRK host mentioned that Lipton received an honorary doctorate from WSU.

A story about the struggles of residents in a northeast Detroit neighborhood that has seen better days references an idea by WSU urban planning professor Robin Boyle. He wonders if leveling marginal, sparsely-populated neighborhoods and turning the land into green space might be one answer. He realizes the idea is controversial but says it could work if the city relocated the residents to more populated areas where it could concentrate services more effectively.

Three-fourths of the estimated 7,000 university grads who will be certified in Michigan this year won't be able to find jobs in the state because there aren't enough teaching openings to go around, according to this article. Yet teaching remains one of the state's most popular college majors. Many graduates are moving out of state to take positions, which contributes to Michigan's brain-drain.

David Moran of the Law School was interviewed for the 11 p.m. news regarding the gag order requested by the new defense attorney in the Stephen Grant murder case in Macomb County. Moran believes such an order is necessary if the defendant is to get a fair trial in southeast Michigan, where there has been extensive publicity about the case.

Dean Barbara Redman of the College of Nursing is quoted in a story about the shortage of nurses in the state. Officials estimate that by 2010 Michigan will be short approximately 7,000 nurses. Several nursing schools do not have enough space or instructors to meet the demand for at least some of their classes. "There are very long waiting lists in some places," Redmond point out. The article points out that Wayne State receives up to 1,600 applications each year for 160 available class seats in its baccalaureate program. The AP story ran in several outstate newspapers and on the WOOD-TV (Grand Rapids) Web site.

A feature about the 50th anniversary of the Detroit Repertory Theatre mentions that co-founder and artistic director Bruce Millan attended Wayne State, where he developed his interest in theatre.