Wayne State University said projects related to its research received $7.2 million in grants from the state\'s 21st Century Jobs Fund. Of the $7.2 million committed to Wayne State, $4.2 million was awarded to faculty at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute. Projects funded include chemical engineering professor K.Y. Simon Ng\'s proposal for the development of synthetic-fueled generators, $2 million; Karmanos Cancer Institute professor Neb Duric\'s proposal for improved breast cancer diagnosis with ultrasound, $1.6 million; Karmanos Cancer Institute professor Patricia LoRusso\'s proposal for more monitoring equipment for cancer drug development, $2.6 million; mechanical engineering professor Golam Newaz\'s proposal for laser joining technologies, $700,841; and mechanical engineering associate professor Xin Wu\'s proposal for new bonding technologies, $302,761. The Ng proposal is in conjunction with Detroit-based Titan Energy Development Inc. and NextEnergy, the state\'s alternative energy development incubator.

Wayne State University law professor Peter Henning commented about the Hewlett Packard (HP) spying scandal and which corporate officers may be vulnerable to charges. Investigators are likely to question attorneys who played varying roles in the snooping. If HP\'s general counsel Ann Baskins was involved in hiring or supervising the outside contractor, she "is squarely in the line of fire,\'\' Henning said. "Even if it got delegated to a lower-level attorney, the general counsel is required to supervise that office, not only as a management rule but as an ethical requirement.\'\'

Highlights of Law School Dean Frank Wu's talk at the Nancy Cantor Distinguished Lecture at the University of Michigan are presented in this piece. Wu addressed the issue of affirmative action, saying that society should be inclusive and rich in diversity, and then use that consensus to fuel the development of policies that will accomplish such a goal. A photo of Wu accompanies the write-up.

A feature story highlights Wayne State University senior tennis player Colette Cabot, who just won the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Week award. Cabot, a 22-year-old kinesiology major who was named to the coach's honor team, was also an all-academic performer at Muskegon Community College.

According to the Education Trust, a nonprofit research group, about 50 colleges across the country have a six-year graduation rate below 20 percent. Many of the institutions serve low-income and minority students. Such numbers have prompted a fierce debate about who is to blame for the results, whether they are acceptable for nontraditional students, and how universities should be held accountable if the vast majority of students do not graduate. A federal commission that examined the future of American higher education recommended in August that colleges and universities take more responsibility for ensuring that students complete their education. The presidents of Northeastern Illinois and Chicago State, whose graduation rates are 17 and 16 percent respectively, say their universities serve a valuable mission, educating untraditional students who often take a long time to complete course work. Many of their students are the first in their families to attend college, they said. Many come ill prepared. Often the students are older, have children and work full time. "I think the work of this institution should be lauded rather than criticized," said Elnora D. Daniel, the president of Chicago State, where 86 percent of the 7,300 students are African-American. "And I say that for all public institutions nationally that attract and have as part of their mission the education of low-income, disadvantaged minorities." Daniel also said that conventional methods for calculating graduation rates significantly understate how many students actually earn degrees.

Wayne State University professor and graduate chairman of the WSU Department of Interdisciplinary Studies Richard Raspa gave a lecture - "Marco Polo's Journey into the Unknown: The Book that Created a New World Geography" - at The Italian American Cultural Center in Clinton Township on Sept. 27.

Kimberle Crenshaw, a leader in the American intellectual movement known as Critical Race Theory and the 2006 Scholar in Residence at the Wayne State University Law School , will speak at the law school Sept. 28 on the "Ten Myths About Affirmative Action." She is a professor at both the UCLA and Columbia Law Schools .

Ten Wayne State students will receive $5,000 scholarships through the Dennis W. Archer Foundation. Names of the students are given in this article, which also mentions that several Western Michigan University students also will receive scholarships.

The Wayne State University College of Nursing will honor several Michigan health professionals with its sixth annual LifeLine Awards on Thursday, Sept. 21. The honorees include Rep. Joe Schwarz, M.D.; Dr. Phyllis Meadows; and Paul and Patricia Busch. The Busches established a memorial endowment named after their daughter Maggie Lynn Busch, a WSU nursing student. Marybeth Lepczyk, Gerald A. Burns, Stephanie Myers Schim, and Jeanette Wrona Klemczak will be recognized as WSU College of Nursing Alumni of the Year. The article includes photos of Meadows and Schwarz.

Wayne State University professor John Corvino will participate in a discussion on "Homosexuality, Principals and the PIB Argument," scheduled for 6:30 p.m., Sept. 14 at the Spencer M. Partrich Auditorium. A question-and-answer session will follow the program, which is free and open to the public. Contact information is provided.

Governor Jennifer Granholm met with Wayne State University student and faculty and congratulated the university for having been awarded five grants totaling $7.2 million from the state's 21st Century Jobs Fund initiative. She also toured the College of Engineering and viewed some of the alternative energy projects under development. More than $2 million of the grant money that went to WSU was awarded to professor K.Y. Simon Ng, director of alternative energy technology, for a project to develop synthetic fuel to power mobile generators for the military. The collaboration is a public-private partnership between WSU, Detroit-based Titan Energy Development Inc. and the National Automotive Center. A photo is included showing Wayne State professor Naeim A. Henein and Granholm touring a lab facility.

Wayne State University leaders are beefing up their outreach efforts to keep students in school in response to retention statistics placing WSU last among Michigan's public universities and below urban universities across the nation. According to data presented at Wednesday's Board of Governors meeting, 10 percent of WSU\'s students will graduate in four years and 32 percent will graduate in six years, a figure university leaders call \"unacceptable.\" \"We have decided who we admit to our institution,\" said Howard Shapiro, associate vice president for undergraduate programs and general education. \"When we admit them, we need to do what it takes to see they are successful.\" Among the immediate changes: Advisers at the university will be more intrusive early in students\' academic careers; learning communities will be expanded and more peer mentors will help struggling students. Student Marcus Lee said bridge programs such as Project 350, targeted to first-generation college students from disadvantaged backgrounds, are very good at orientating students. The university has many services in place to help students, Shapiro said. The problem is often \"getting the people connected to the services.\" Wayne State University Governor Richard Bernstein said retaining students needs to be the university\'s top priority. A sidebar shows graduation rates for Michigan's universities. Wayne State is noted at 31.7 percent.

Columnist Desiree Cooper writes about the Walter P. Reuther Library's opening Friday of \"In the Fields (En los Campos),\" an exhibit of 30 color photos of teens from Michigan and Indiana who spend nonschool hours harvesting everything from onions to lettuce. Prizewinning documentary filmmakers Pam LeBlanc and Freddi Stevens-Jacobi set out in 2001 to honor the labor of the young migrant workers. According to the U.S. Department of Education, the United States had about 850,000 school-age migrant children in 2001. The State of Michigan offered educational services to about 13,000 children of migrant workers in 2000. About one-fifth of those kids were in grades 7-12. Exhibit hours are 9 a.m. to 6:45 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Wednesday through Friday. Admission is free. Contact information is provided.

Wayne State is noted in the story as one of Detroit's sites that is still a part of the steam tunnel network of Detroit that was established in 1903. The city's steam supplier, Detroit Thermal L.L.C., is wrapping up a $22 million project to update equipment and piping systems that currently supply heat to 240 buildings. Wayne State's Detroit campus is shown in a map of the 39 miles of steam pipes that are part of the Detroit Thermal L.L.C. system.

Wayne State University English professor and poet M.L. Liebler presented a program on The Beatles Sept. 20 at the Chelsea Public Library. A second program will be held Oct. 25. A photo of Liebler accompanies this feature story.

A teaser reads, "On Saturday, the Detroit Shock gave local sports fans another reason to cheer when they clinched the WNBA national championship game at Joe Louis Arena. But they aren't the area's only champs. This week, Why Detroit Works also reports on wins for Beaumont Hospital, Honigman Miller, Wayne State University, Kettering University and anyone looking for lean process training."

Harvard University announced Tuesday that it plans to discontinue its early-admission program. The decision rekindles a national debate about controversial polices allowing some students, usually the wealthiest, to receive an admissions decision months before regular applicants. A Harvard spokesperson said the move will allow more low-income and minority students to apply. But some college administrators said they doubted the announcement would revolutionize the admissions field so much as bring good publicity for the nation's oldest university. Critics of early-admission plans have complained that elite colleges now admit at east two-fifths of their applicants through early programs.

This article focuses on the improved quality of dorm food on university campuses across Michigan . Ethnic and vegan cuisine are now mainstays on many campuses, as well as stir-fry dishes. The article mentions that Wayne State 's 19-meal-per-week meal plan at the Towers Residential Suites costs $1,200 per semester. Four WSU students offered their opinions of residence hall food, and separate photos of two students dining at Ghafari Hall accompanied the story. A sidebar listing some of the "unique items being served up at area colleges" mentions the made-to-order stir-fry at Wayne State .

Wayne State history professor and author Charlie Hyde is profiled in this article by Jennifer Dixon. Hyde, who has written nine books about the automobile industry and on other topics ranging from lighthouses to vintage bridges, has organized a panel of automotive authors who will discuss the industry and its history on Saturday, Sept. 16, at the Detroit Public Library's Skillman Branch. Hyde explains that he became interested in auto industry history when he moved to Detroit in 1974 and discovered old factories. "I was face-to-face with the physical remains of Detroit 's auto industry when it was at the peak of its prosperity, and that really led me into learning more," he said. Currently working on a history of American Motors and its predecessor companies, Hyde also has written a history of the Dodge Brothers, published in 2005.

SenSound LLC, a company based on research conducted at Wayne State University , has received a $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to develop its noise-related quality control technology. This grant will allow SenSound - located in Grosse Pointe Farms - to commercialize its proprietary software allowing manufacturers of noise-emitting products and components to conduct quality testing to verify compliance with noise standards. SenSound has distributed its software to Korea , Canada , Europe, Japan , Germany , China and India .