An article about schools and universities that plan to lease all or part of their federally-allocated educational radio spectrum to outside providers mentions Wayne State . The university and several neighboring school districts have sought bids from companies that want to build high-speed wireless broadband networks. Patrick Gossman of the Computing and Information Technology Division said negotiations are ongoing but it looks like the winner is likely to be mobile WiMax. He pointed out that "our students are always on the go and want to stay connected."

This all-news station reported Monday afternoon on A. Alfred Taubman's $3 million gift to the university for the planned new Damon J. Keith Classroom Building and Center for Civil Rights at the Law School.

A $3 million gift to Wayne State University from developer/philanthropist A. Alfred Taubman will help fund construction of a new classroom building and a civil rights center named for Judge Damon J. Keith at the Law School . The gift is the largest single amount ever given to the Law School . Writer Sherri Begin focuses on the longtime friendship between Taubman and Keith and mentions that the planned new building will house classrooms, offices, meeting areas and an auditorium in addition to the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights. The building also will be the permanent home for the Damon J. Keith Collection of African-American Legal History; the "Marching Toward Justice" exhibit, which traces the history of the 14th Amendment; and the "Saluting a Giant" exhibit, which highlights Keith's law career. "I believe in the idea of recognizing civil rights," Taubman said. "This is recognition of what (Judge Keith) is doing for his community and for his country." The gift comes in the midst of Wayne State 's $500 million capital campaign, which has raised more than $300 million to date, according to Susan Burns, vice president for development and alumni affairs. A photo of Taubman and Keith accompanies the story.

Both TV stations picked up on an AP story that reported that lawmakers in Lansing are working on budgets this week for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. Plans offered by Gov. Jennifer Granholm and the state Senate would give the state's three big research universities, including Wayne State, a two percent increase. Funding increases would vary for the state's 12 other public universities.

An article about today's open house for the Child Protection Center at Children's Hospital of Michigan mentions that the center's medical director, Dr. Vincent Palusci, sees children who have been abused or neglected. A nationally recognized expert in child abuse, Palusci was named last February by the Wayne State University Board of Governors as the Helppie Endowed Professor of Pediatrics. He is in the forefront of an effort to develop a certification process for pediatricians in the sub-specialty of child abuse.

This article about school districts and universities that are leading the way in making WiMax wireless broadband available notes that Wayne State University and neighboring school districts sought bids from service providers last fall to lease most of their spectrum to build a high-speed network and offer low-cost services to students and areas without broadband. Negotiations are continuing. "Our students are always on the go and want to stay connected," said Patrick Gossman, director of academic technologies and customer services here.

A story about the living-wage movement at the University of Virginia and across the country includes a comment by David Reynolds of the Labor Studies Center at WSU. He has studied the impact of Detroit 's living-wage law on 100 nonprofits and says "no one that was a routine employee lost their job as a result of having to implement these changes in the wages."

A proposed copyright law being discussed in Congress would expand the Digital Millennium Copyright Act restrictions on software that can bypass copy protections. Jessica Litman, an expert on copyright law at Wayne State University , views expansion of the act as significant. "If Sony had decided to stand on its rights and either McAfee or Norton Antivirus had tried to remove the rootkit from my hard drive, we'd all be violating this expanded definition," she pointed out.

Business columnist Susan Tompor urges college graduates who have federally-backed student loans to consolidate them in order to lock in the rate of interest before July 1, when rates could rise by 1.5 - 2 percentage points. "Students who move quickly can consolidate under the old, lower rates and save thousands of dollars over the life of the loan," Tompor writes.

This issue carries two photos from the WSU Law School 's Annual Treasure of Detroit Gala, held at Ford Field on April 1. Both photos show Dean Frank Wu with persons who were honored by the school at the event.

Wayne State University is sponsoring an international symposium April 29 on the future of African and African American relationships. Themed, "To know the fruit, one must examine its roots," the event dubbed "International Roots Symposium," is expected to be a learning experience for students and the community. "I think it is essential because of what Gambia represents to most of us who read Alex Haley's Roots," said Howard Starks, an Africana Studies instructor at Wayne State. "We need a point of origin because most of our people cannot tell what specific countries they were brought from to this place." The symposium, which will be held at the Student Center Buidling ballroom from 9 a.m.-1 p.m., will feature several panel discussions exploring cultural, political and economic ties with Africa. Some of the expected speakers at the event include Detroit city councilwoman JoAnn Watson, Wayne County Commission chairwoman Jewel Ware, Congressman John Conyers, Jr., and educator Malik Yakini, among others.

Detroit Revolutionary: A film about Saul Wellman's life, "Professional Revolutionary: The Saul Wellman Story," produced by Wayne State University Professor Ronald Aronson and directed by California-based, Academy Award-nominated Judith Montell, combines archival footage and extensive interviews with Wellman, before he died in 2003, and his earliest cohorts and other contemporaries. Previously screened at the Lenore Marwil Jewish Film Festival, the 65-minute film will be shown April 28-30 at the Insight Screening Room, 24300 Southfield Road, in Southfield. Aronson will lead discussions at some of the screenings.

In a column, Free Press editorial writer Jeff Gerritt points up the importance of technical and vocational training available at Michigan 's community colleges. "Community colleges are pivotal to the state's efforts to train and retrain workers, and to the prospects of a lot of young people on the margins who need the help and training only two-year colleges provide," he writes. He urges the governor and state Legislature to approve a 4 percent boost in funding requested by the Michigan Community College Association.

Wayne State swimming team standout Nick Ingrao was among athletes featured during the "CBS Sports Presents Championships of the NCAA" one-hour special. The highly-rated senior swimmer completed Army basic training in 2002 before enrolling at WSU and joining the swim team in 2003. He is graduating Saturday and heading for Texas for active duty with the Army. Swim-coach Sean Peters also was interviewed on the broadcast.

Kingsley Browne, Wayne State law professor, commented about WXYZ TV-7 news anchor Frank Turner's complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission saying Channel 7 had violated his rights under the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which forbids religious discrimination. Turner filed the complaint after Channel 7 officials denied him the opportunity to host a daily two-hour radio broadcast on a Christian radio station in Detroit. Browne thinks WXYZ will have an easy time proving their case: \"Anything more than trivial costs could be a hardship. Employers pay money for exclusive contracts for a reason...I think he\'s going to have a real hard time prevailing - it\'s a definite longshot.\"

According to a Grand Rapids Press editorial, the reality in Michigan higher education is that three universities are more important and more costly to run than the other 12, therefore, Wayne State University, the University of Michigan and Michigan State University should be treated separately in the legislature's budget writing. The three schools have asked for that change, which would return them to the separate status that they held in 2003. The editorial further points out that the three institutions are the largest of the 15 universities, and are the only ones that have medical schools, which are expensive. They also make up the state's biggest investment in science and engineering education.

For many years, community colleges and universities have been separated into individual budgets to recognize the differences in their missions, according to an item in this online newsletter. But now officials at Wayne State, Michigan State and the University of Michigan want the same lines drawn between them and the state's 12 other four-year educational institutions. The entry carries a link to a longer article by Gongwer News Service that says the three universities are asking that their funding be moved to at least a separate section of the current budget bills, if not to an entirely separate bill. Of particular concern for the schools is that a funding formula would not take into account the added costs, and benefits, of their medical schools and the extensive research conducted at the universities. Harvey Hollins, vice president for government and community affairs at WSU, said the trend in the Legislature is to do funding by formula. "When you have a formula, you've got to have the comparisons right," he said. "It costs more to produce a doctor than to produce a political science student." He also pointed out that costs of being an urban research university are not reflected in the funding formula, nor are costs associated with having a higher proportion of part-time students.

The newspaper editorializes in favor of treating Wayne State, Michigan State and the University of Michigan separately for state budgeting purposes. The press points out that the three institutions are "the only ones with medical schools, which are inherently expensive. They also comprise the state's biggest investment in science and engineering education, especially at research levels. And, more than the others, they are major economic development assets."

Theatre critic Martin Kohn writes about the successful efforts of a theatre marketing class at Wayne State . Graduate students in the class are conducting the season ticket subscription campaign for the university's theatres. Sixty percent of each student's final grade depends on how many subscribers they attract. Professor Anthony Rhine, who heads the MFA program in theatre management, believes subscriptions will be up about 15 percent this year. He says the real purpose of the class is to help students "learn about the process." Kohn also interviewed two students in the class, who talked about what they gained from the marketing experience as well as their future plans. An insert notes that the 2006-07 season open house at the Hilberry Theatre will be from 1-4 p.m. Saturday.

"The Inspector General," playing at WSU's Hilberry Theatre through May 13, is rated a "top pick" on today's entertainment events page. A description of the play is provided, along with ticket information. An accompanying photo shows two actors in a scene from the production.