NEWS IN A MINUTE: Wayne County United Nations ambassadors from eight nations are visiting Wayne State University on Jan. 11, 9:30 a.m., at the Spencer M. Partrich Law School Auditorium, as part of a discussion on world affairs. The program, sponsored by the Detroit Council for World Affairs and the New York-based Humpty Dumpty Institute, is free and open to the public. Contact information is provided.

This story, published originally in the Sacramento Bee, examines the use of irony in present-day American culture. "Given the way the world has gone, we're in more need of irony," asserts Jerry Herron, former director of the American Studies Program at WSU and director of the Honors Program. "What 9-11 produced was a world where pettiforgery, obfuscation, half-truths and double dealing are more rampant than ever before." He adds, "At a time when people feel they're being lied to and treated as though they're too stupid to get it, it lets you regain the claim on your own intelligence."

A feature story on Louisiana State University assistant football coach Brendan Farrell mentions that he got his first coaching job as a running backs and special teams coordinator at Wayne State University. He says being on the University of Notre Dame football squad in the 1990s, even though he never played in a game, helped him get the WSU job that provided valuable experience. He left a budding career at a law firm to take the position at WSU. A recommendation from some of his old coaches at Notre Dame helped. "I'm extremely lucky, because I've seen the high school coaches at conventions trying to get a college job in North Dakota or something," Farrell quips. (LSU defeated Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl yesterday.)

The fight over affirmative action at Michigan public universities widened Thursday as a state court was asked to order the University of Michigan to implement the provisions of Proposal 2 immediately. The Center for Individual Rights filed suit Tuesday in Washtenaw County Circuit Court on behalf of a man who is applying for admission to the U-M and Wayne State University law schools. The suit is aimed specifically at the University of Michigan and Gov. Jennifer Granholm. "There is a whole pattern of obstruction and delay that the university has engaged in since the proposal was passed," charged Terrence Pell, president of the group that filed suit.

Wayne State University and Wayne County Community College District (WCCCD) announced WayneDirect, a new partnership designed to offer early admission to WSU to WCCCD students who designate Wayne State as the university where they will complete their bachelor's degrees and meets transfer admission requirements.

Wayne State University is included among a list of hopefuls for new funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). If selected along with the University of Michigan and Michigan State University, WSU could be among 60 institutions to share $500 million annually once the program is fully operating in 2012. The NIH is favoring institutions that can prove they are focusing on broad research aimed at getting new treatments more quickly to patients.

Wayne State University and Wayne County Community College have announced WayneDirect, a new partnership designed to offer early admission to Wayne State for WCCCD students who designate WSU as the university where they will complete their bachelor's degree. Students also must meet transfer requirements.

Officials at Michigan's three largest universities are reviewing a federal appeals court ruling that ordered late Friday (Dec. 29) full compliance with the state's new affirmative action ban, also known as Proposal 2. A federal appeals court ruled that three universities must immediately remove race and gender consideration from their admissions and financial aid decisions and fully comply with Proposal 2. The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling effectively overturned the six-month delay a lower court judge granted last week to the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Wayne State University.

Wayne State University is one of 85 recipients of the 21st Century Jobs Fund awards and is identified as a partner and lead agency with Brighton Diesel Diagnostics, Next Energy and Titan Energy Development. The funding comes out of more than $100 million made available to Michigan companies through the initiative, whose goal is to stimulate job growth and diversify the state's economy. Wayne State will have an oversight role and will evaluate engine emissions.

David Bonior, noted as taking a leave from his job of teaching labor studies and politics at Wayne State University, will head John Edwards' 2008 presidential campaign. Edwards, a former U.S. senator from North Carolina who was John Kerry's running mate in the 2004 presidential election, officially launched his campaign Thursday at a news conference in New Orleans. A photo of Bonior is included.

A federal judge has set a Jan. 5 court date aimed at sorting through some of the mounting legal issues related to Michigan's new constitutional amendment banning some public affirmative action programs. The status and scheduling conference was set by U.S. District Judge David Lawson, who has been assigned two lawsuits dealing with Proposal 2. The new law took effect Saturday (Dec. 30).

A team of scientists from Wayne State University and the University of Detroit Mercy are working to develop what they call "pethanol" to run small, fuel-cell-powered vehicles such as golf carts and riding mowers. Because peat forms naturally and requires no fertilization, it's a benefit over corn, the researchers say. And Michigan, with its swampy environs, has one of the nation's largest peat reserves. "Corn's biggest problem is that you only get one crop a year," says John Shewchun, an adjunct chemistry and engineering professor at Wayne State. "Peat is dirt cheap (to harvest), and with it you've got something that is easily replenished."

• Most Powerful People: Wayne State University President Irvin D. Reid, chair, Talent Attraction/Retention committee, Downtown Detroit Partnership. • Capital Campaigns: Wayne First: The Campaign for Wayne State University, ranked 3rd among the area's top 25 capital campaigns with a goal of $500 million • Health Care: Wayne State University School of Medicine is noted as making health care headlines in 2006 for their successful contract negotiations with The Detroit Medical Center. The contract, effective Jan.1, will pay the WSU/University Physicians Group about $76 million a year for 3-1/2 years. • Largest Metro Detroit Employers: (Ranked by full-time employees): WSU ranked 22nd of 25 with 5,077 employees. • Technology Transfer: Wayne State University is noted as the source of technology for three significant companies spawned by technology transfer. The companies include: DNA Software, Ann Arbor; SciTech Development L.L.C., Detroit; and SenSound L.L.C., Grosse Pointe Farms. • 20 in their 20s: (Young people making their marks in creative fields and demonstrating innovation): Annie Martin, 30, Acquisitions editor, Wayne State University Press. Spotted a market for Michigan writers and developed a series for Wayne State University Press called the Made in Michigan Writers Series. Found funding for the project.

The Wayne State University Athletic Department collected more than 400 toys for the United States Marine Corps Toys for Tots program this holiday season. The toys were donated by the WSU athletic staff, student-athletes and fans.

The Rev. C. T. Vivian, noted civil rights legend, will deliver the keynote address on Friday, Jan. 12, at Wayne State University's Martin Luther King Jr. Tribute luncheon. The program will begin at noon in the Student Center Ballroom on campus. Information on how to obtain tickets is provided, in addition to background on Vivian. Photos of the guest speaker and King accompany the 6-column article.

The Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences at Wayne State appointed Mary K. Clark as assistant dean of student and alumni services. She comes to WSU from the School of Public Health at the University of Michigan and has a master's degree in community and agency counseling from WSU. A photo accompanies the article.

Brian Pannebecker, Macomb County chairman of the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, claims in this op-ed piece that Wayne State, Michigan State and University of Michigan are thwarting the will of voters by claiming they need more time to implement the provisions of Proposal 2. He also charges Dean Frank Wu of the WSU Law School with devising "a new set of admission 'guidelines' that, while not mentioning race, would effectively serve as thinly-veiled racial preferences."

This article details the Law School's revised admissions policy. Professor Jonathon Weinberg, who prepared the draft of the new policy, explained that the goal is to "get a class that is diverse in the broadest sense - a student body that has a broad set of interests, backgrounds, perspectives and life experiences - and to do that without using race." The Law School is the first in the state to make its revised policy public after the passage of Proposal 2.

An editorial notes that Wayne State, Michigan State and the University of Michigan are teaming up to launch a University Research Corridor to help bring new business investment to Michigan. But the newspaper contends "it's a safe bet that none of that money, nor the potential investment and jobs it brings, ever finds its way to Macomb County." Describing Macomb as a "tax donor county", the editor emphasizes the importance of having a four-year university to attract research dollars, create jobs and "further educate our populace."

Seventh-grade girls interested in a math and science enrichment program have until Friday to apply for Gaining Options: Girls Investigate Real Life (GO-GIRL). The program, offered through a partnership of Wayne State University and the University of Michigan, was started in 2002.