Education: A brief notes that Wayne State's Office of Marketing and Communications has named Francine R. Wunder of West Bloomfield director of corporate and public affairs.

A brief in the "Twist" section notes that a seminar titled "Energy Policy and National Security: What the Automotive Industry Needs to Know" will be held today at Wayne State's Welcome Center from 6-8 p.m. Contact and reservation information is provided.

A brief mentions that Wayne State's Law School named Sarah May associate director in its office of development and alumni affairs.

Following Gov. Jennifer Granholm's announcement of plans to explore the creation of a four-year university in Macomb County, Oakland University will be expanding its bachelor and graduate degree programs currently being offered to Macomb students. Dave Downing, interim vice provost for graduate education and academic administration at Oakland University, said the goal is to encourage more Macomb residents to take that first step toward achieving both 2-year and 4-year degrees. Oakland and Macomb Community College officials also announced the \"Macomb 2 Oakland\" initiative, which expands their existing partnership to make concurrent admission to both schools, coordinated financial aid programs and expanded course advising and selection processes more accessible and convenient.

Democratic leaders unveiled a proposal on Wednesday aimed at reducing college-education costs and increasing the number of college graduates by one million in the next 10 years. The plan, which the Democrats dubbed Saving the American Dream, proposes to give $150-billion over the next decade to states in block grants whose sizes would be determined by the number of students who attend and graduate from their public colleges. Under the proposal, all families that put students through college, graduate school, or training could receive a $3,000 college-tuition tax credit. The credit would cover up to four years of such education; families too poor to owe taxes would receive it in the form of a refund. The tax credit, if adopted, would replace other higher-education tax breaks.

Yousha Mirza, child and adolescent psychiatrist at Children's Hospital of Michigan , received the 2006 Young Investigator Award from the Collegium Internationale Neuropsychopharmacology. He was lead investigator in a study conducted by the hospital and Wayne State University that examined MRI brain images of 35 children, uncovering variances between the sizes of children's brains with ADHD alone and those with ADHD plus another disruptive disorder. The findings were compared to data for healthy children.

John Zawiskie, adjunct professor of geology at Wayne State and staff geologist at Cranbrook Institute of Science, is featured in this column by Bill McGraw. Zawiskie, who received his undergraduate and graduate degrees in zoology and paleontology from WSU, had a key role in the recovery of mastodon fossils uncovered recently in Rochester Hills. His research projects have taken him over the years to such places as South America , Australia and Antarctica . A photo of Zawiskie accompanies the story.

In this article about how recent renovations and developments in downtown Detroit have helped to bury the memory of the 1967 riots, J.B. Peabody, who is renovating Mid-Med Lofts, mentions that Wayne State graduates are among young people taking up residence downtown. "Students and residents at The Medical Center want to live close to work," Peabody said. "Also, Wayne State University graduates want to remain in the area. They like it here. They like the bars and restaurants within walking distance."

Wendy Evans, adjunct curator of art history at Wayne State and at the Detroit Institute of Arts, will give a 10 a.m., July 25, presentation titled "Plien Air Precedents: Out of Doors, Into the Light" at the Crooked Tree Arts Center

In an editorial, the newspaper questions announced tuition increases at several of Michigan 's public universities. While acknowledging that universities are facing cost pressures, The News' editors write that "every industry in Michigan is in a similar situation" and that "almost none have the luxury of continually shifting those costs on to their clients without having to pare back other expenses or demand more efficiency from their employees." A list of tuition rate hikes at eight universities accompanies the piece, and Michigan State is criticized for allocating 0.7 percent of its 5.9 percent tuition increase to financial aid. The News contends that MSU is creating "a welfare fund" to help pay for those who can't afford the higher tuition and that "a better way to help would be to lower costs across the board rather than ask everyone to contribute so some can benefit." The opinion piece concludes, "More needs to be done in Michigan to make college affordable and attainable for more students, and that responsibility lies as much with the university administrators as it does the Legislature and governor."

The U.S. Senate is expected to approve a measure to broaden federally funded research on embryonic stem cells. But some government officials and scientists say the strict limits imposed by the Bush administration are only part of what's hindering stem-cell research. Another road-block to the research is that broad patents are held by a University of Wisconsin foundation. The broadly worded patents, which cover nearly any use of human embryonic stem cells, are held by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, a non-profit group that handles the school's intellectual-property estate. A California watchdog group, the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights of Santa Monica, says it will ask the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to overturn three patents awarded to James A. Thomson, the Wisconsin researcher who first isolated stem cells from human embryos in 1998.

In a piece about the symptoms of menopause, as well as various treatments and coping methods, Wayne State researchers were acknowledged for conducting a study which concluded that a slight rise in women's core body temperatures above a thermonuclear zone can trigger hot flashes.

A story by the Associated Press points out that more than half of college students in the country have at least one credit card that is billed to them and about a quarter of these students have used their cards to pay tuition. A study by the American Council on Education found that many schools, particularly state institutions and community colleges, allow students to pay tuition with credit cards for convenience. But some schools do not approve of the practice, fearing it will steer students toward more expensive ways to borrow. Other colleges say the fees charged by credit card companies to process payments "aren't worth it."

Kami Pothukuchi, Wayne State associate professor of urban planning, commented about the recent revenue boom generated by the People Mover. She said a transit system is essential for Detroit to grow and compete with other big cities such as Chicago and New York. Pothukuchi added that the system moves people around when they get to downtown, but it\'s not an alternative for a transit system that provides access from various parts of the city to the downtown region. Marsden Burger, former operations manager of the People Mover, who has lobbied for expanding the train\'s route north to the Detroit Medical Center and the New Center area, said this idea would also extend the route to Wayne State. This, he said, would create a new downtown, four miles long.

Paula Wood, dean of Wayne State's College of Education, is a scheduled guest on Frank Beckmann's morning show today which airs from 9-11:30 a.m. weekdays. Wood will be discussing the State Board of Education's plan to "grade" state colleges of education, a proposal she addressed in a Detroit Free Press op-ed yesterday. Agreeing that such programs should be held accountable for the classroom effectiveness of its graduates, Wood wrote that the rating plan will do very little to achieve the goal of helping to produce quality teachers. Today's interview is scheduled between 11-11:30 a.m.

Tuition hikes in Michigan are expected to be much lower this year, as a result of the 3 percent average increase in state funding that colleges and universities are getting. Michigan State University, for example, will be increasing tuition 5.9 percent, much lower than last year\'s increase of 13.5 percent. The three University of Michigan campuses will set their tuition on Friday, while Wayne State, Oakland University and Eastern Michigan University have yet to vote. Thus far, the highest tuition hike in the state has been at Michigan Tech, a jump of 8.7 percent. According to a study done by the Senate Fiscal Agency last year, tuition at the state\'s 15 public universities has risen 67 percent over the last 10 years, while state funding has increased 12 percent. Michigan\'s three largest universities, Wayne State University, the University of Michigan and Michigan State University have lost a total of $106 million in state aid during the last three years. Wayne State is also noted in the story for receiving the smallest increase of 2.5 percent, along with Michigan Tech.

The Michigan State University Board of Trustees unanimously approved a 5.9 percent increase for in-state undergraduates and 6.9 percent for out-of-state undergrads. Combined with housing, it will cost $14,837 for an in-state freshman to attend the university. To help offset the tuition increase, MSU again increased funds for financial aid and approved a new program, called the Spartan Advantage, to replace student loans with grants and work study for freshman whose families are at or below the federal poverty line - about $20,000 for a family of four. It will benefit about 350 of the estimated 7,350 incoming freshmen.

Governor Jennifer Granholm announced Monday two efforts aimed at increasing access to higher education in Macomb County. She created a 15-member panel to assess the need for expanding options for postsecondary school programs in the county and commissioned an independent study of the county's higher education needs. The study, which will be paid through private funding, will determine the best ways to expand higher education options in the county, according to Granholm.

The University of Michigan is engaged in a campaign to woo top faculty to its teaching and research ranks. U-M officials are increasing the number of endowed chair positions, allocating money for recruiting and retaining outstanding faculty and creating more opportunities for faculty research to enter the marketplace. At stake are millions of dollars in federal and private research and development grants for which talented faculty fiercely compete. Grant funding can produce key breakthroughs in research that lead to patents, inventions, spin-off companies and royalty income for the professor and the university.

Patricia Brown has been appointed chief of internal medicine at Detroit Receiving Hospital . She remains associate professor of medicine in the WSU School of Medicine.