Janice E. Hale, professor of Early Childhood in Wayne State's College of Education, commented about Constance F. Gipson's new book titled "The Black Man's Guide to Parenting." Hale said the book is filled with valuable information and good advice, and that Gipson is to be congratulated for the precision with which she addresses the difference African American men can make when they are actively involved in raising their children.

The $3 million gift to the Wayne State University Law School from philanthropist A. Alfred Taubman is covered in a story accompanied by a photo of Taubman. The gift, the largest single amount ever given to the Law School , will help fund a new classroom and office building that will also house the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights. Keith and Taubman are longtime friends. The university is in the midst of a $500 million capital campaign, which is well over halfway toward its goal.

Booth Newspapers ran an AP story about hearings before the House Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee regarding testimony by the presidents of Wayne State, Michigan State and the University of Michigan . The universities were united in their appeal for increased funding because of unique costs and missions that separate them from the state's 12 other public universities. "We depend on you . . . for the resources needed to perform the immensely important work with which we are entrusted," President Irvin D. Reid told committee members. But Western Michigan University President Judith Bailey warned against separating schools based on the ratings of their research levels. "It begins to fragment the overall picture," she said. "I believe it is problematic." Proposals made by Gov. Granholm and the state Senate would give each of the three major research universities a 2 percent increase for next fiscal year. WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids and WLNS-TV in Lansing aired brief reports based on the AP story.

An article about Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi, mentions that she will be speaking at a symposium at Wayne State Friday evening. A sidebar includes more details of the event and a phone number for information. Ebadi, an Iranian-born human rights lawyer and activist, also will speak Saturday evening at the University of Michigan .

A feature about retiring Macomb Daily executive editor Mitch Kehetian notes that he received a Lifetime Achievement Award recently from the journalism faculty of Wayne State University . A WSU alumnus, he said the honor meant more to him than any other he has received.

This article talks about a production of Wayne State University 's Black Theatre Touring Company, which was presented in the Marine City area on April 26. The play "Buses" tells the story of a fictional encounter between Rosa Parks and Mary Ellen Pleasant, a lesser known civil rights figure. Marine City High School teacher Jay McCullough says he brought his English and drama club classes to the play "because there isn't a lot of diversity in our community."

A group of metro Detroiters are trying to expand Thursday's National Day of Prayer into a broad celebration of the nation's diversity. A Conference titled "When Strangers Become Neighbors" will be presented at Wayne State Thursday, 8 a.m. till noon, to mark the 20th anniversary of these diversity gatherings in metro Detroit. Following the conference, participants will pray inside the McGregor Memorial Conference Center or outside in Gullen Mall. The WSU conference will likely be the largest interfaith event going on in southeast Michigan.

Mr. Lawrence Patrick, former director of Wayne State's Biomechanical Research Center, died of complications from Parkinson's disease at Four Seasons Hospice in Hendersonville, N.C. He was 85. Patrick earned a master's degree in mechanical engineering from Wayne State in 1955. He had already become the university's research director in 1946, and later became director of WSU's Biomechanics Research Center in 1965. A pioneer in automotive safety design, his work led to advancements in the development of the airbag. He also employed cadavers to test seat belts, safety glass for windshields, collapsible steering columns, dashboards and many other safety features. In addition, Patrick was a professor at the university for nearly two decades.

Wayne State's Black Theatre Touring Company produced "Buses," a fictional play about Rosa Parks, on April 26 at the East China Performing Arts Center.

Car crashes happen everyday, but don't typically occur in car ads. Volkswagen AG recently caused some controversy by airing two commercials depicting people who are emotionally spent, but physically unharmed after car crashes in the Jetta. In the past, automakers have included car crashes in their ads, but usually with crash test dummies. "From a pure advertising standpoint, it's very effective execution because it jumps so far out from the ad clutter," said Jeff Stoltman, Wayne State marketing professor. "Some people are taken by it, while others are offended by it."

During the 7 a.m. news report, it was noted that Wayne State University and the Wayne State University American Association of University Professors/American Federation of Teachers reached a tentative three-year collective bargaining agreement.

According to a report from the National Science Foundation, industry support for academic research in science and engineering fell for the third straight year in the 2004 fiscal year. This trend marks the first time since the foundation's surveys began in 1953 that a sector of academic research has shown a multiyear decline. The report, "Industrial Funding of Academic R&D Continues to Decline in FY 2004," shows that industry's support of academic research in science and engineering fell by 2.6 percent in 2004, 1.1 percent in 2003 and 1.5 percent in 2002. Industry support was $2.1-billion in 2004, down from $2.2-billon in 2001. Overall research and development spending at colleges increased by 7.2 percent, to $42.9-billion in 2004 from $40.1-billion in 2003, representing a slowdown from previous years (10.9 percent in 2002 and 10.2 percent in 2003). A sidebar graph of the nation's top 100 institutions in federal research and development expenditures in 2004 ranks Wayne State University 74th with a 10.2 percent increase over 2003.

Wayne State junior golfer Joe Wilson is tied for 26th place after shooting a 77 in the first round at the NCAA Division 2 men's Great Lakes Super Regional at Prairie Bluff Golf Club in Lockport Ill. , on Monday. The top individual qualifies for the NCAA finals May 16-19 at Glade Springs Resort in Daniels, W.Va.

A lecture on Down syndrome will be held at 6 p.m. today at Wayne State's Community Arts Auditorium. Cost is $45 per person. Address, ticket and contact information were included.

A front-page story covers the donation of $3 million by A. Alfred Taubman to the Wayne State University Law School for the Damon J. Keith Classroom Building and Center for Civil Rights. Some information on the proposed new building - to be named for the widely known Detroit federal judge - and its uses is provided. Also mentioned are plans to establish the Damon J. Keith Distinguished Chair in Constitutional and Civil Rights Law. Taubman said the new center will be "a fitting tribute to (Judge Keith's) extraordinary legal career." President Irvin D. Reid said the university is "pleased and proud" that the center will be named after Keith. Taubman and Keith are longtime friends. A photo of the two accompanies the story.

The station reported on last Thursday's "Wayne First" anniversary celebration on campus.

Wayne State University history professor Jose Cuello commented during an immigration rally at Clark Park on Detroit's southwest side Monday. The protesters were outraged over a proposal to toughen immigration laws, and immigrants across the country were also boycotting work and school to show the impact that they have. Cuello told 7 Action News reporter Bill Proctor that the use of 'illegal' is a toxic term. "I think that we could simply, 'say let's register them,' and they would be legal. So I think this is a political decision, I think the economy in this country has far outstripped the laws of the country.\"

TechTown has added four new members to its board of directors, including two from other states. They are: Detroit Renaissance Inc. President Doug Rothwell; Detroit City Council member Kwame Kenyatta; Michael Klass, co-founder of California-based health care information-technology company MD Synergy, and an investment manager with Second Southern Corp. and Ginarra Partners in Los Angeles; and, Mitchell Wonboy, executive director of global fixed-income derivatives for Union Bank of Switzerland in Stamford, Conn.

"How Retailers Choose Where They Will Build Stores" will be presented at 6 p.m. May 8, at Wayne State's Bernath Auditorium in the Adamany Undergraduate Library. Ticket information and a Web site link is included.

Wayne State University is considering adding retiree health coverage benefits for its faculty and academic staff to be competitive with other research and doctoral institutions. A joint faculty-administration committee has been studying the idea since December, shortly after WSU agreed to a one-year contract extension with the Wayne State University American Association of University Professors/American Federation of Teachers, Local 6075 which represents more than 1,900 faculty and academic staff at WSU. At that time, WSU agreed to establish the committee to look into retiree health benefits. The committee is jointly chaired by the dean of the College of Education, Paula Wood, and Charles Parrish, a political science professor and president of the faculty/academic employees union. In evaluating the plan, WSU is assessing the costs, how it would cover those costs, how it will be required to account for that future liability on its current financial statements and whether its competition is offering those benefits, said Nancy Barrett, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs. "Right now we are one of the few universities in the state that does not offer retiree health benefits of some sort." "We need to be very careful before we take a position one way or another, to understand what the budgetary impact will be \"we\'re consulting experts on this,\" she said.