DaimlerChrysler's Aspen, the new luxury SUV, is the opening act for singer Patti LaBelle's 14-city tour - "The Gospel of Patti" - of urban mega-churches, which boast up to as many as 30,000 members. As part of the tour, Chrysler will take the Aspen to churches in seven cities per week before the concert, letting parishioners drive it. Wayne State University marketing professor Hugh Cannon remarked that churches and corporations can have mutually beneficial partnerships, but churches have to be careful not to become too closely affiliated with one company or product, and vice versa. "As long as that doesn't happen, it's really great for Chrysler and the church," he said.

Ron Brown, associate professor of political science, commented about how candidates who are strongly associated with a national party may approach their issues with their local constituency - especially when the national party isn\'t reflecting a district\'s priorities or viewpoints. \"It may boil down locally to the ability of the local House members, the representatives, explaining very clearly to their base why on [some] issues they supported Bush and why in the long run, it\'s good for Michigan,\" Brown says. \"The Democrats ironically may be able to overcome it by blaming Bush for the Michigan economy and bringing in the war as an issue.\"

In an editorial, former U.S. Congressman David Bonior and Wayne State University labor studies professor, wrote that employers are increasingly using aggressive methods to exploit already-weak labor laws. When faced with organizing drives, 30 percent of employers fire pro-union workers, 49 percent threaten to close a work-site if the union wins, and 51 percent coerce workers into opposing unions with bribery or favoritism. Bonior wrote that American workers "have the fundamental human right to collectively bargain. We must support the freedom to climb the ladder to the middle class via unions."

The first major publicity campaign of the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD) has raised some questions as to whether a new museum in Detroit will be successful. In a study for the Wayne State University Center of Arts and Public Policy, David Magidson and the late Bernard L. Brock identified a 5-stage model for "The Arts and Cultural Process of Economic Development." In it, they cite Stratford, Ontario, which was started out as a mill town before becoming a major theater community that generates $170 million in revenue in ticket sales alone for an annual Shakespearean festival.

Casandra E. Ulbrich, senior director of development for Wayne State University's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, is mentioned in this overview of candidates seeking a seat on the state's Board of Education. The story includes a photo of Ulbrich.

Abdullah Saleh and Rachelle Malette, sophomores on the Wayne State University men's and women's cross country teams, respectively, were both named runner of the week by the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Saleh won the men's 8K race at the Michigan Intercollegiate meet, ensuring a WSU victory. Malette won the women's 6K, where WSU finished third.

A memorial golf outing held on Sept. 11 for Lara Rutan generated more than $30,000. The money will go toward a scholarship endowment at Wayne State University, where Rutan graduated a few months prior to her death in a traffic crash in Clinton Township. Rutan, 25, of Grosse Pointe, was president of her physician's assistant program class, and just passed her certification test.

Karmanos Institute to refine cancer technology Peter Littrup, a medical doctor and professor at Wayne State's School of Medicine, is one of the inventors of new ultrasound technology that scans breast tissue and is capable of revealing smaller masses than current technology. The machine might also be used for focused ultrasound therapy, a localized treatment of breast cancer that wouldn\'t come with the harmful side effects of chemotherapy, according to Littrup. Researchers at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute are using a $1.6 million grant to refine the new ultrasound technology. Laser bonding could help with keyless entries Wayne State professor Golam Newaz is leading a team using a $700,000 grant to research the bonding of materials -- like ceramics, plastics and metals -- using lasers. While still in the early stages of research, Newaz sees a day when his research is applied to make everything from keyless entries from cars to credit cards with embedded smart chips. In addition to teaching mechanical engineering, Newaz is associate director of the Institute for Manufacturing Research, a collaboration between Wayne State and the manufacturing industry. The grant, which Newaz said the university is matching with $300,000, will help move laser bonding toward commercial use. A sidebar listing of grant recipients notes that Wayne State University received three grants; $2,030,156; $302,761; and $700,841.

Jeff Stoltman, Wayne State marketing professor, commented about the Detroit Pistons' new ad campaign for the 2006-07 season. Stoltman said they are "trying to shout through" the pandemonium surrounding the Detroit Tigers. The ad campaign titled "There's One Call For Us All," debuts this week with TV spots and radio ads. The Pistons have had 136 consecutive home sellouts since January 2004 and could boast more than $45 million in revenue from ticket sales this year, according to Stoltman.

Melissa Boal, a forward for Wayne State's Women's Ice Hockey Team, was named College Hockey America offensive player of the week. She had two goals and an assist in two games.

Macomb Community College (MCC) will be eliminating its theater program beginning in January 2007, according to MCC officials. They cited insufficient revenue, lack of full-time faculty and an inability to compete with similar theater programs offered at Wayne State and Oakland University.

A brief notes that Wayne State's Department of Theatre's Ph.D. Directors' Series presents its first production of the 2006-07 season, "The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-In-The-Moon Marigolds," on Oct. 12.

The Michigan Opera Theatre received a $75,000 grant from the Skillman Foundation providing opportunities for disadvantaged youth to participate in opera, dance, music composition and writers' workshops. Dance classes will be facilitated by Karen Prall, professor of dance at Wayne State University.

The Wayne State University College of Engineering received a grant through the 21st Century Jobs Fund for more than $3 million. A total of $4 million more went to other projects at the school. The College of Engineering is working on several cutting-edge technologies that could potentially spur economic growth, including bioengineering research and nanotechnology. Dean Ralph Kummler is quoted in the article. "The capability we have been working on for more than a decade . . . through the Center for Automotive Research has been to develop tremendous expertise in diesel engines," he pointed out.

Wayne State University is No. 8 on this list of Detroit 's 25 largest employers. As of January 2006, WSU had 5,077 full-time employees, Crain's reports, approximately the same number as a year ago. That puts WSU just above the state of Michigan and just below the U.S. government on the list. The Detroit Public Schools topped the list.

Wayne State is mentioned in a sidebar accompanying a story that speculates about the impact on Michigan State University if Proposal 2 - which would ban race and gender preferences in public institutions - is passed on Nov. 7. A clause specifying that Wayne State, Michigan State and the University of Michigan "and any other public college or university, community college or school district" shall not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin would be among several added to the Michigan Constitution.

WWJ reporter Florence Walton provided on-site coverage of the "Drive Safely to Wayne State" program held on Gullen Mall. The event also was promoted at various times during Sunday's programming.

Health reporter Deena Centofanti visited a Wayne State University lab to investigate new technology that someday may be the key to catching cancer early when it is curable. Engineering professor Gregory Auner said that Wayne State researchers have been working on a tiny microchip that may make virtual biopsies possible in the near future.

A brief item in the events column on the front page mentions that Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land will be on hand for the kickoff of the "Drive Safely to Wayne State" campaign Monday, Oct. 9, at 1 p.m.

Reporter Greg Bowman interviewed Fred Pearson, director of Wayne State's Center for Peace and Conflict Studies, about the North Korean nuclear testing developments. Pearson said China is now faced with the dilemma of either supporting sanctions that would interrupt the flow of food into North Korea, causing a mass exodus of refugees into China, or, resolve that North Korea is a nuclear power.