A man who never had a driver\'s license and was drunk when he crashed a truck head-on into a car was found guilty of second-degree murder Thursday. Gordon Todd Stewart, 40, faces a sentence of up to life in prison for the Sept. 16 death of Lara Rutan, 25, of Grosse Pointe, who was in a Volkswagen Jetta that was hit by the truck on Hayes Road , near Clinton River Road . Five memorial funds have been set up in Rutan\'s memory, including scholarship funds at her alma maters, Regina High School and Wayne State University , as well as Mothers Against Drunk Driving, St. Paul Education Trust and the Michigan Humane Society. Rutan, a graduate of WSU\'s physician assistant program, was working at Eastside Cardiovascular Medicine in Detroit .

Wayne State University participated in "College Day" on March 21 sponsored by the Clare-Gladwin Career Tech Center and Mid Michigan Community College. The free event, open to high school sophomores, juniors and seniors and their parents, as well as current college students considering a transfer, was an opportunity for area residents to learn more about various colleges, universities and military agencies.

Wayne State's Law School announced that Andrea D. Lyon, a nationally recognized expert on the death penalty, will deliver the 22nd Annual I. Goodman Cohen Lecture in Trial Advocacy on Thursday, March 30. Lyon's lecture, "The Death Penalty On Trial: The Politics of Capital Punishment," will begin at 3 p.m. in the Spencer M. Partrich Auditorium.

Amherst , Mount Holyoke , Bucknell, Cornell, and the University of Southern California are turning their attentions to what may be an untapped reservoir of able, low-income students: the 6.5 million people who attend community colleges. Attached is a list of Michigan Public Universities ranked by 2004-2005 tuition and fees. Wayne State is ranked eighth as less expensive than UM-Ann Arbor and more expensive than Saginaw Valley.

Film critic Robert Delaney offers a lukewarm review of the Hilberry Theatre's "Antony & Cleopatra" saying the play was too long and that there were voice quality issues. Delaney adds, "It is a shame this production is not what it could have been." The Bonstelle Theatre's "Othello" however is given a 'thumbs-up' by Delaney. "The Bonstelle's 'Othello' is a more satisfying production than the Hilberry's current 'Antony & Cleopatra,'" Delaney says. Photos of cast members from both productions are included.

" Antony and Cleopatra," playing in repertory at WSU's Hilberry Theatre through May 4, is reviewed by John Monaghan. He calls it a "handsome production" overall but says veteran director Lavinia Hart "has spread her cast too thin." A photo of the lead actor and actress accompanies the story.

Joan Mahoney, a law school professor at Wayne State , was interviewed for a story on a case that could challenge Roe vs. Wade. A Saginaw man is involved in paternity case, in which he argues that his right to reject parenthood is being violated.

Susan Zwieg, director of undergraduate admissions for Wayne State University , was interviewed on Fox 2 regarding a national story on an error with SAT test results for 4,000 students who took the college entrance exam.

The Hillberry Theater production of Shakespeare's " Antony and Cleopatra" is played straight: no updates, no surprises, and for the most part, no problems.

An article about 20th anniversary activities for Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital mentions that it is one of nine hospitals and institutes operated by The Detroit Medical Center, "a leading regional health system affiliated with Wayne State University and its schools of medicine, nursing and allied health."

An item about the upcoming FIRST Robotics regional competition mentions that one of the sites will be Wayne State University , March 17-18.

A column focusing on news about college students who hail from the Sterling Heights area lists 10 students who were named to the WSU School of Business Administration Dean's List.

Among the excellent players on the Michigan Ice Breakers of the Michigan women's Senior B Division is Anna VandeMarliere, who played for Wayne State University . The team lost only once this year and will represent the one-state Michigan District later this month at USA Hockey's National Championship tourney in Buffalo , New York .

Officials of the College Board are still not sure what caused the error in the scores of 4,000 students who took the test in October 2005. Most of the affected students received a lower score than they actually earned, with some scores off by as much as 200 points. Many college admissions officers are now having to reconsider decisions that were based on faulty scores. Student complaints about the inaccurate scores prompted the College Board to investigate the problem in late December, but admissions officials were just notified about the errors this week via a mailed letter.

Stephen Millen was honored with a Distinguished Alumni Award during Wayne State's 29th annual College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts awards ceremony. Millen, vice president and general manager of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, was one of three honorees. Other recipients included: Jack Kay, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Michigan-Flint; and actor Ernie Hudson, best known for his role in the 1984's "Ghostbusters." The awards allow colleges and departments to honor alumni whose achievements are conspicuous within their chosen fields," said John D. Vander Weg, associate dean, College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts. "(Millen's) success as a high-level administrator in one of the top-notch orchestras in the country is something that should be recognized and honored." A photo of Millen is included.

The idea of offering meaningful incentives to influence and change adult behavior is slowly catching on for drug and alcohol treatment, according to this Knight Ridder article. More than 60 studies in this country and Europe show that rewarding substance abusers for staying clean helps keep them enrolled in the critical early weeks of outpatient rehab, when dropout rates can hit 40 percent or more. "Many of us recognize this as one of the most important and effective tools we have," said Charles R. Schuster, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse under Presidents Reagan and Bush and now head of addictions research at the Wayne State University School of Medicine. The article ran in dozens of Knight Ridder newspapers around the country.

Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson's efforts to get the state of Michigan to abolish the Single Business Tax (SBT) using news conferences in his office and press releases on county letterhead have come under fire by Oakland County Commissioner David Woodward of Royal Oak , who is chairman of the county Democratic Party . He contends that use of county resources to advance a political position and to get the issue on the ballot are illegal. But Patterson counters that what he is doing is legal, noting that his activities on behalf of the repeal campaign have been done with the assistance of county employees on their personal time. The article mentions that the Michigan Chamber of Commerce has not taken a position on the SBT proposal and that the chamber recently filed a complaint against Wayne State University for providing a Web link to a campaign to raise the minimum wage. "Since the complaint, WSU has removed the link," the article points out.

Detroit Public Schools and Wayne County Community College will announce today that DPS students will soon be able to log on and attend more than 100 online courses at WCCC. The offerings will help students who want to take classes that aren't available in their schools - typically because of lack of teachers or lack of interest from other students. Cass Tech Junior Joy Alston likes the idea. She is in AP Calculus this year and was planning to attend Wayne State University during her senior year to study more advanced math. Now she says she may take that class online.

Forty years of Detroit sports history, as captured by photographer Dan Graschuck, will be featured at Wayne State 's Walter P. Reuther Library through August. A phone number is given for more information.

On March 24, the Wayne State Center for the Study of Humanities will present a conference on globalization and the humanities. Two of the speakers are mentioned and an Internet link is provided for more information.