Cindy Krolikowski, an academic librarian at Wayne State University, and her husband Henry, are traveling a lot these days to compete in road rallies. Cindy has been asked to co-drive for another driver in a world championship rally series that goes around the globe. The husband-wife team work together in the race car, he as driver, she as navigator. Now, though, Cindy\'s riding shotgun for another driver. The Krolikowskis started racing in 1983, shortly after their wedding. \"I like the challenge of it,\" said Cindy. \"I\'ve always liked puzzles and math and I\'m literally telling the driver to do things at certain mileages. I enjoy speed a lot. I like to drive fast when I can. It\'s a challenge.\"

Kenneth J. Meier, Charles H. Gregory Chair in Liberal Arts at Texas A&M University, will deliver the 7th Annual Lent Upson Lecture on March 29 at 5 p.m., at Wayne State University\'s McGregor Memorial Conference Center. Meier will discuss a research project that examined the politics of Latino and African-American education. The event is free and open to the public. Tickets to a banquet following the lecture are $20. Contact information is provided.

Oscar winners Three 6 Mafia will join hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons and rappers MC Lyte and Doug E. Fresh to launch the second Hip-Hop Summit Action Network's "Get Your Money Right" financial literacy and empowerment national tour in Detroit on March 25 at Wayne State's Bonstelle Theater. This year's event places the spotlight on financial experts and celebrities who will address entrepreneurship, vehicle financing, repairing credit and understanding credit scores.

A brief notes that Wayne State University's Detroit Orientation Institute (DOI) is accepting applications for its spring session scheduled on three consecutive Tuesdays, April 25, May 2 and May 9. The DOI offers a historical perspective and candid look at Detroit and the metro region. The cost is $750 per person.

Wayne State is noted among the list of organizations providing keynotes and speakers for the DTE Energy and The Engineering Society of Detroit sponsored conference and exhibition on the latest innovations in alternative energy sources, energy technology and energy efficiency. The largest event of its kind in metropolitan Detroit, the conference will be held March 23 at the Rock Financial Showplace in Novi. The event is expected to have 100 exhibitors and attract 1,000 attendees representing facility managers and building planners from automotive, manufacturing, and major Tier 1 and 2 suppliers, industrial and commercial building owners and managers, healthcare facilities, colleges and universities, and food processing and delivery plants.

Wayne State University senior defensemen Steve Kovalchik and Greg Poupard signed professional contracts today with the Florida Everblades of the East Coast Hockey League. Kovalchik earned Second Team All-CHA honors for 2005-06 after finishing second in overall scoring among league blueliners with 21 points. Poupard served as co-captain his final two years at Wayne State. His 24 career points ranks seventh all-time at WSU for defensemen.

The Organization of Black Alumni's (OBA) 12th Annual Achievement Awards banquet is featured in a story with photos. The OBA posthumously presented its Brenda M. Scott Memorial Public Service Award to Liuzzo's daughter, Penny Herrington. A portion of the proceeds from the event benefited OBA's scholarship program which offers financial assistance to Detroit Public School graduates who attend Wayne State.

In his annual State of the City address, carried live by WWJ, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick mentioned development at Wayne State University and TechTown as examples of economic resurgence in the city.

TechTown, Detroit \'s emerging high-tech hub near Wayne State University , plans to transform itself into an urban village filled with retailers, residences and pedestrians by 2020. In its second year, the 12-block area formerly known as New Amsterdam has attracted 21 businesses, including Asterand, a human tissue bank, and Academic Computing Environments, which rebuilds obsolete computers for schools. Most are housed in a six-story building called TechOne, a rehabbed 1927 warehouse designed by Albert Kahn. As more startups need lab and office space, TechTown intends to convert nearby vacant buildings into TechTwo and TechThree within the next few years. But they\'re only pieces of the overall vision for TechTown. \"Ultimately we want to build a community where people live, they work and they play,\" said Howard Bell, TechTown\'s executive director. \"There are only a few major metropolitan areas that have even attempted to do what we\'re doing today.\"

Anjaneyulu Kowluru of West Bloomfield, a professor in the Pharmaceutical Sciences department at Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Wayne State University , was appointed to the Innovative Grant Review Panel of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International.

Dorothy Smith says she joined Nifty Needles, a weekly sewing circle at Sequoia Place Elderly Housing in Ann Arbor , because \"I wanted to be busy -- it\'s something to keep my mind busy.\" What Smith, 72, says strikes a chord with senior citizens and gerontologists alike. Research shows that crafts keep the mind sharp and that doing them in groups promotes socialization, a key component of warding off isolation among seniors. Dr. Peter Lichtenberg, director of the Institute of Gerontology at Wayne State University , agrees. To help, the institute is hosting an Art of Aging Successfully conference later this month. \"Good health and well-being are promoted by engagement,\" Lichtenberg says. \"People have to be active with things they have a passion for.\"

EAST LANSING - The Islamic Center of Greater Lansing will hold a public discussion on Saturday in response to the Danish cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad. The meeting is scheduled to start at 4:30 p.m. at the center at 920 S. Harrison Road in East Lansing . Guest speakers who will share their thoughts on recent events include: Muneer Fareed, Wayne State University professor of Islamic studies; the Rev. Frederick Fritz, senior pastor, University Lutheran Church ; and Alford Welch , Michigan State University religious studies professor.

The Hip-Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN), title sponsor Chrysler Financial and presenting sponsor Anheuser-Busch, Inc. will kick-off the second year of the \"Get Your Money Right\" financial literacy and empowerment national tour in Detroit on March 25. Artists participating on the panel include Russell Simmons, Three 6 Mafia, Don Omar, MC Lyte, Doug E. Fresh, former Detroit Piston Derrick Coleman, Obie Trice, Stat Quo, Bobby Creekwater and Spudd from Radio One. Dr. Benjamin Chavis, President/CEO of HSAN and Doug E. Fresh will co-moderate the Summit . The Summit will take place at Wayne State University 's Bonstelle Theatre, ( 3424 Woodward Ave. ) Doors open at 12:30 p.m. and the Summit program will run from 1:30-3:30 p.m.

Michigan\'s public universities should revise sabbaticals and other rules that give professors excessive free time supported by tax dollars and tuition. Requiring more attention to teaching makes sense in a time of skyrocketing tuition and tough state budgets. As money gets tight, perks should dwindle -- a common-sense principle now being applied in private industry. \"Sabbatical\" is an academic term for taking a paid time off to do pretty much what you want. Theoretically, the time is used for research. But many top professors already teach fewer than 15 hours a week and have much of the summer off as well. That\'s plenty of time to catch up on advances in their field and add to the knowledge base. Experts in other professions, including engineering, medicine and business, don\'t need months off to be efficient or productive. In school year 2004-05, more than 550 Michigan professors were paid for leaves. The tab was about $23 million in salaries, $8 million in benefits, not including paying instructors to fill in for absent professors. The figure is not large given the total spending for higher education. But it comes after many universities jacked up tuition at a double-digit pace. The schools are willing to make students sacrifice by paying more money, but they don\'t require professors to carry a bigger teaching burden.

The above noted television and radio outlets covered the launch of a community redesign project for the 12-block TechTown community, held at NextEnergy last Monday. The interactive summit brought together leaders, entrepreneurs and students to collaborate on a comprehensive plan detailing the complete landscaping and renovation of TechTown by 2020.

Ben Burns, director of Wayne State's journalism department and a member of the Freedom of Information Committee, says both the Freedom of Information Laws and Open Meetings Acts, being honored this week as part of Sunshine Week, are a simple way to provide everyone access to information. "But not everyone appreciates the laws," Burns adds.

The Detroit research and technology park TechTown, the New Center Council and the University Cultural Center Association will host leaders from around the country to launch a community redesign project for the 12-block TechTown community. The interactive summit will bring together leaders, entrepreneurs and students to collaborate on a comprehensive plan detailing the complete landscaping and renovation of TechTown by 2020. The meeting begins with addresses today from political leaders at 9 a.m at NextEnergy. Confirmed guest speakers include Wayne State University President Irvin D. Reid, Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, Congressman John Conyers, Michigan Economic Development Corp. President and CEO James Epolito, Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano, and Detroit City Council President Ken Cockrel Jr.

The Detroit Orientation Institute (DOI) at Wayne State University is now accepting applications for the spring session scheduled on three consecutive Tuesdays, April 25, May 2 and May 9. The DOI offers a historical perspective and candid look at Detroit and the metro region. The sessions are especially beneficial to newcomers or anyone wishing to learn about the city and metro area. Business executives, professionals from nonprofit organizations, university faculty, high school teachers and administrators, government administrators and journalists typically attend. Contact information is provided, including the DOI\'s Web site address at www.doi.wayne.edu.

Ann Arbor-based business process consultants Simons-White & Associates last week announced the launch of a new program for improving product launches and customer satisfaction. The Design for \"Six Sigma - Theory of Inventive Problem Solving\" program was developed by Kai Yang, professor of industrial and manufacturing engineering at Wayne State University, and Norma S. Simons, president of Simons-White. Unlike typical Six Sigma practices, which typically focus on process improvement and defect reduction, the new program focuses on the earliest stages of product development. The problem-solving component of the program is based on more than 50 years of research on millions of patents, focused on unlocking the secrets of inventions and technical breakthroughs. Yang will provide an overview of the new program in an event at Automation Alley in Troy on April 7.

FIRST - For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology will hold regional robotics competition Thursday through Saturday at Wayne State University . Regionals March 30-April 1 will be at Grand Valley State University .