The News editorializes that Michigan needs a greater number of well-trained workers and criticizes the state for not giving a higher priority to development of talented workers. The editors refer to a new report from Michigan Future Inc. that, among other measures, recommends earmarking more money for higher education. Although Gov. Granholm has set a goal of doubling the number of college graduates in a decade, the editorial charges that she has "cut higher education spending, triggering tuition hikes that are often in the double digits. State support for colleges and universities has declined by 30 percent during the last 25 years." The News calls for Michigan to "create a world-class education system" if it is to revive its flagging economy.

Wayne State and Oakwood Healthcare, Inc. signed an affiliation agreement to create an academic and clinical care partnership, which will encompass new programs in graduate medical education and clinical care. "This affiliation provides an opportunity for us to expand our educational commitment to our students," said Wayne State University President Irvin D. Reid. "We are first and foremost an educational institution, and this partnership will help us to broaden training opportunities for the medical professionals of tomorrow. It also will enhance our ability to conduct research that will assist in bringing the benefits of nationally significant academic medicine to the clinical needs of the community. Our partnership strengthens the delivery of education, research and patient care which are critical to the future of health care in our region and beyond."

Wayne State University said Monday that it has signed an academic and clinical care affiliation with Oakwood Healthcare Inc. as part of a new strategy to expand connections with area hospitals and systems. The affiliation includes the WSU Physicians Group and marks the first formal clinical and educational affiliation outside of the group's primary tie to The Detroit Medical Center, the article says. Dr. Robert Mentzer, dean of the medical school, said the Oakwood affiliation will not affect that relationship, but rather reflects the need for the school to expand its regional connections. Mike Geheb, division president of Oakwood Hospital and Medical Center and Oakwood Heritage Hospital , said the National Institutes of Health are focusing heavily on boosting research that makes its way quickly to the patient and "we want to play a larger role in that."

Mike Geheb, president of Oakwood Hospital and Medical Center and Oakwood Heritage Hospital , commented on his group's affiliation with the WSU School of Medicine during interview segments that ran on evening and morning news breaks.

Wayne State's School of Medicine plans to move its orthopedics residency program to Oakwood Healthcare Inc. as part of a new affiliation agreement. Despite the new agreement, it probably will be a year before the school can resume training orthopedics residents, according to Dr. Robert Mentzer Jr., dean of the School of Medicine. "Our challenge is to be able to create an environment which is very appealing for them in which to work…and to make sure they remain actively engaged in teaching for the next year," Mentzer said. He added that the Oakwood agreement will encompass far more than just the orthopedics program, but other programs have not yet been identified. "Together we will identify and develop programs that have the potential to achieve national prominence," Mentzer said.

The Wayne State University/Oakwood Healthcare affiliation agreement is also discussed in this story which notes that WSU's medical school will expand its reach into western Wayne County sending more students and faculty to practice, learn and conduct research at Oakwood facilities that serve more than 1 million people in 35 western Wayne communities. Wayne State Governor Richard Bernstein commented about the university's 22-year partnership with the DMC in light of this agreement. "What this symbolizes and represents is the end of an era in terms of exclusivity between Wayne State and DMC." While Wayne State faculty and residents have long practiced at Oakwood and other Metro Detroit hospitals, an official affiliation will increase that presence, said Dr. Robert Mentzer Jr., dean of the School of Medicine. The arrangement also will give each institution a greater say in how the other functions, he said. Financial details of the arrangement are still being worked out, as are details of how many resident students and faculty will go to Oakwood. The arrangement won't mean paring faculty or students at the DMC, Wayne State officials said.

The debate over affirmative action will return to the Supreme Court this fall when the justices consider for the first time the question of whether public schools can use race as a factor in assigning children. Robert Sedler, a constitutional law professor at Wayne State University, worked on early desegregation lawsuits against the Louisville school system. He said the successful diversity argument made at the college level in 2003 should apply now to lower schools. \"I couldn\'t picture the court saying that this is not a compelling interest,\" Sedler said. \"Because if it\'s a compelling interest at the college level, then it\'s a compelling interest at the lower grades. The question will be, how do you do it? What are the guidelines?\"

GM shareholder Kirk Kerkorian has lost about $235 million on his stake in the automaker since he first disclosed details of his interest in the corporation a year ago, according to a Free Press analysis. He initially invested $1.69 billion in General Motors Corp. \"He\'s certainly under water on his stock,\" said Peter Henning, a longtime observer of Kerkorian and a former Securities and Exchange Commission attorney who now teaches corporate law at Wayne State University law school. With access to the board through Michael York (Kerkorian's top consultant and member of GM's board of directors), Kerkorian can present data and theories directors might otherwise not hear. If unsatisfied, he can try to convince the board to replace Wagoner -- something he has not apparently tried to do. \"His investments have been designed to generate a fairly quick return, either from selling the company or from management changes in restructuring. When Kerkorian comes in, he\'s looking for change to happen.\"

Dr. Mark Greenwald, a Wayne State University psychiatry professor, commented about the popular and deadly drug fentanyl-spiked heroin, referred to as "Suicide." Unlike heroin, addicts don't need to use five or more times a day while they're on fentanyl and don't need a fix as soon as they wake up. Part of the appeal is that longtime addicts no longer get high. Instead, heroin merely curbs nausea, tremors, diarrhea and other withdrawal symptoms, said Dr. Mark Greenwald, a Wayne State University psychiatry professor who conducts studies on addicts.

A proposal to guarantee annual funding increases for public schools, community colleges and universities appears headed for the November ballot after approval Monday by a state elections panel. If enacted, the proposal would require state lawmakers and the governor to provide, at minimum, inflationary increases in school funding each year. Administrators, school board groups and teachers unions support the proposal, but it faces opposition from business and taxpayer groups, Gov. Jennifer Granholm and key lawmakers. Senate Majority Leader Ken Sikkema and House Speaker Craig DeRoche have labeled the K-16 funding guarantee as wrongheaded, too expensive and a threat to programs ranging from police protection to road building.

An alphabetical list of 22 Detroit-area schools with graduate business degree programs includes the WSU School of Business Administration. Degrees listed include the following: MBA; online MBA; MBA-J.D.; M.S. degrees in accounting, taxation; M.A. in economics; master of industrial relations; master of public administration; Ph.D. in economics. Other information is provided, along with how to contact the business school.

A group called the Coalition for Michigan 's Future has floated a plan to expand Cobo Center to include laboratory and office space for new high-tech companies, including those developing alternative fuels. The plan, broached during the recent Mackinac Policy Conference, caught Howard Bell , executive director of TechTown, and James Croce, CEO of NextEnergy in TechTown, by surprise. The article discusses space available in Detroit for new high-tech research companies and notes that the TechOne Building in TechTown has 24 tenants occupying about 42,000 square feet of space in use. Bell said the second half of the building is slated for renovation within the next couple of years. TechTown owns a second building nearby, the old (WSU) Criminal Justice Building, which has about 121,000 square feet available for renovation as market conditions warrant.

An article about the growing number of HIV/AIDS cases includes comments by physician Tammy Lundstrom, an AIDS specialist at the WSU School of Medicine and at Harper University Hospital . "The reality is we have a whole new generation of kids who were not around in the beginning of the epidemic," she says. "You can't turn your attention away . . . because there's a whole new audience to educate." In Michigan there are approximately 11,400 people with HIV or AIDS, two thirds of them in metropolitan Detroit .

Wayne State and a partnership between the University of Michigan-Dearborn and Oakland Community College are developing accelerated teaching-certificate programs to help displaced engineers to fill math and science teacher shortages. Both plan to launch programs this fall. "We want to be sure we think creatively so people don't have to leave the community; they can stay here and fill needs, said WSU Provost Nancy Barrett. "We have a shortage of these teachers, and with the revisions in the high school curriculum, there will be even more of them." WSU's College of Education is developing a curriculum for the program and taking it to education fairs at area automotive plants. The university also is in discussions with the UAW, so the union can inform its members about the program.

Howard Bell, executive director of TechTown, the Wayne State-affiliated high-tech incubator, told a Friday session at the Detroit Regional Chamber's Mackinac Policy Conference that political leaders "need to get comfortable with the concept of failure." Speaking as part of a panel on defining Michigan 's leadership agenda, Bell said leaders can't afford to be worried about failure or playing it safe. He pointed out that moving forward with new technologies can result in failure for some entrepreneurs, so leaders need to be "marathon oriented".

In this article about life science research being done in Michigan , Wayne State is mentioned for its support of Asterand, a company building a human tissue bank. A willingness on the part of the university to allocate technical resources and lab space played a key role in the company's establishing itself in Detroit and its move to TechTown.

A feature story on the bioscience companies Asterand and Aastrom Biosciences notes that Asterand became the first tenant in WSU's TechTown, relocating there from a small lab in the Karmanos Cancer Institute. The resources of Wayne State helped the company's continuing growth.

In this article about whether the loss of manufacturing jobs in Michigan will lead to increased enrollment in retraining programs offered by community colleges, Hal Stack, director of the WSU Labor Studies Center , provides his perspective. "I don't think we're going to have thousands of relatively young workers looking to be retrained to start another career," he says. He noted that most of the workforce reductions at Ford and GM are being accomplished through early retirement packages.

Wayne State is mentioned in this article on Michigan Survives, a volunteer organization that helps displaced professionals cope with job loss and to find a new job. Ron Kent, director of career services here, said career placement assistance offered through his office is primarily for Wayne State students and alumni. Services include career counseling, job search strategies and assistance with resume writing.

In 2004, Delphi Corp., through its Delphi Technologies subsidiary, allowed students in a Wayne State University MBA program to analyze the market potential of two Delphi technologies as part of a hands-on experience. This is one example used in the article of how universities and larger businesses are cooperating to spur the success of smaller businesses.