Crain\'s compiled the education backgrounds of the CEOs on Crain\'s list of publicly held companies, the top 50 companies on Crain\'s Private 200 list and Crain\'s 25 largest women-owned companies. Included in the list are the most-attended undergraduate schools which includes Wayne State University in the number two slot with 32 alumni. WSU is followed by Michigan State University, 31; University of Detroit Mercy, 14; and, Western Michigan University, 11. The University of Michigan-Ann Arbor led the group with 40 CEO's among its alumni.

Robin Boyle, urban planning professor at Wayne State , is quoted in a story about the national attention focused on Detroit during the World Series. The Series has been bringing people, money, and national attention to a downtown that is on the mend. Reporter Mark Trumbull points out that Comerica Park was built as part of a downtown renewal effort. "There has been a conscious 10-year focusing of activity in a downtown center that didn't work," Boyle said. "It still doesn't work very well, to be truthful, but it's making progress."

Frank Wu, dean of the Law School , will discuss race and civil rights during his presentation of "Beyond Black and White: The Future of Civil Rights" tomorrow at Central Michigan University . The presentation is part of the "Affirmative Action, Civil Rights and Beyond" series. Wu told the newspaper that his goal is "to provoke people to think for themselves, not persuade them to think like me," said Wu. "I welcome dialogue because it is what drives our diverse democracy."

Dr. Ingida Asfaw, a Detroit-based cardiovascular surgeon and clinical professor of surgery at Wayne State's School of Medicine, has been named "America's Greatest Hometown Hero" in the 4th Annual Volvo for Life Awards. His reward is receiving a complimentary new Volvo every three years for the rest of his life. The Volvo for Life Awards was launched in 2002, calling for people nationwide to nominate a local hero. Asfaw created the Ethiopian North American Health Professionals Association (ENAHPA), an international coalition that addresses his native Ethiopia's medical crises.

John Corvino, Wayne State University professor, philosopher and gay-rights activist, debated with Glenn Stanton, author of "Why Marriage Matters: Reasons to Believe in Marriage in Postmodern Society," over the issue of gay marriage at a recent program held at Idaho State University . Corvino said same-sex marriage is a win-win situation. "It doesn't take anything away from heterosexual marriage," he observed. He said society should support all good, solid relationships.

The Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences honored the following seven Distinguished Alumni for outstanding achievement in their careers during the 2006 alumni reunion: Dorothy M. Brown, clinical laboratory science; Roger Husband, mortuary science; Henry B. Lick, occupational and environmental health sciences; Masline Horton, occupational therapy; Clarice May Brown, physical therapy; Daniel M. Ashby, pharmacy; and Jeffrey N. Beutler, nurse anesthesia.

Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano and Chief Wayne County Circuit Judge Mary Beth Kelly are among speakers today at a daylong conference today on the juvenile justice system in Wayne County . The Wayne State University Law School will host the invitation-only event.

Many colleges and universities may be portraying themselves as having less crime than actually takes place, according to this article. Under a1990 federal law, colleges and universities must report statistics on burglaries - but not larcenies - to the U.S. Education Department, students and staff. Northeastern University is used as an example of how some crimes are under-reported by colleges. The school reported only five burglaries on campus in 2004. But it also had 345 instances of larceny, which didn't involve unlawful entry and were not reported to the campus community. Federal regulators feel that many such larcenies at universities should be reported in order to give interested persons a true picture of crime on campus. But there is disagreement by some campus law enforcement officers and the FBI over the definitions of larceny and burglary. The result is that some incidents that are most likely burglaries are classified by campus police as larcenies, and therefore not included in reports to federal officials.

Wayne State University Law School Dean Frank Wu participated in a recent State Bar of Michigan Annual Meeting debate on Proposal 2 which, if passed in next month's election, would ban affirmative action in Michigan. Wu argued that considering race and gender was the only way to remedy past discrimination. "If we think diversity is important, if we take it seriously, then looking at race and gender is not only the best way, it's the only way to bring in meaningful numbers" of those who were formerly excluded from positions of power. A photo of Wu is included.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a $225,750 grant to Wayne State University to support a strategic planning process for a clinical translational science award (CTSA). Clinical and translational research is critical to finding cures and treatments for hundreds of diseases and conditions such as Diabetes, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, AIDS, cardiovascular disease and inherited disorders.

A brief notes that Francine Wunder has joined Wayne State University as the director of corporate and public affairs, office of marketing and communications.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a $225,750 grant to Wayne State University to support a strategic planning process for a clinical translational science award (CTSA). WSU has joined a group of renowned universities known as the Academic Health Centers (AHC) as part of a national consortium designed to transform how clinical and translational research is conducted, ultimately enabling researchers to provide new treatments more efficiently and quickly to patients. When fully implemented in 2012, about 60 institutions will be linked together to energize the discipline of clinical and translational science.

Professor Jeffrey Abt of the Art and Art History Department is quoted in a story about the opening of the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit . The museum opens Saturday, Oct. 28, at Woodward and Garfield. "When I first came to Detroit in 1989, people were talking about how it was really important for the city to have a place to show contemporary art from around the world," Abt recalled. "There's been a pent-up demand for it for some time."

There is a growing trend among advertising agencies and technology companies to rely on anthropologists and ethnographic research to gain insight into consumer behavior. Technology executives with anthropological training say their background helps them design user-friendly software, which was one of the reasons Emagination Network hired Dennis Schleicher, who has a master's degree in business and industrial anthropology from Wayne State University . Schleicher says his training gives him the ability to translate what technology-users require from a software application. "You can't just go out and ask people (because) sometimes they can't articulate the things they like and they didn't like," he explains. "I feel so strongly that my success so far is because of the methods and skills I learned."

An opinion piece about the problems and challenges facing the people and government of Haiti mentions that, in September, social work scholars Athena Kolbe and Royce Hutson of Wayne State University published an alarming report on human rights abuses in the Caribbean country. The controversial report, based on survey data, detailed eight types of human rights violations. The newspaper article mentions that a key to resolving Haiti 's problems is to raise the level of education and personal income of the population. The country also needs assistance "building up institutions for local governance and democracy," the writer contends.

The Wayne State University women's swimming and diving team has four Downriver Detroit connections: senior Venessa Torres, junior Whitney Baker, sophomore Julie Danaher, and freshman Jenny Howe. Each swimmer's specialty is mentioned.

CROSS-COUNTRY: Grand Valley sweeps The Grand Valley State University men's and women's cross-country teams swept the championships at Findlay , Ohio , Saturday, outpointing Wayne State . The Warriors' Dan Kapadia was named Freshman of the Year. TENNIS In tennis, WSU's Amanda Pressotto won No. 1 singles, but the Warriors lost 6-3 to visiting Grand Valley State .

Melissa Boal's second unassisted goal of the game at 2:38 of overtime gave Wayne State its first first victory of the season in women's hockey Saturday. The Warriors defeated host Rensselaer , 3-2. Junior Valery Turcotte made 31 saves for the victors.

GLIAC A college football roundup column makes note of Indianapolis ' 39-14 victory over Wayne State Saturday. The Greyhounds raced to a 22-0 lead and never looked back. Their leading ball carrier, Craig Jenkins, gained 232 yards, while WSU's Joique Bell was limited to 78 yards on 16 carries. The loss dropped WSU to 5-2 in the GLIAC.

Bob Vergiels is the public-address announcer for Wayne State University football and basketball, the Detroit Tigers and Michigan basketball, among other teams. He was the announcer for the Oct. 14 WSU homecoming football game against Hillsdale and the fourth game of the Tigers-A's series that evening. He almost didn't make it to the Tigers game because of the tight schedule. Fortunately, the WSU campus police got him to the Tigers game in time. The article mentions that 5,000 fans attended the WSU football game, where WSU beat Hillsdale 41-26.