This newsletter for the organization Families with Children from China includes an article about a presentation by Dean Frank Wu of the Law School to a group of parents from the metro Detroit and Toledo areas who have adopted children from Asian countries. "With wit and humor, Wu used examples from his own life as to how he routinely faces racially motivated comments on a daily basis," the article says. Wu talked about stereotypes and how to counter them, and he urged the audience to embrace positive aspects of their child's culture. Following his talk, he autographed copies of his book and donated sale proceeds to a non-profit organization called Half the Sky.

A short item in the "Briefs" column in the business section notes that The Detroit Medical Center earned $13 million in 2005, the first time in eight years the hospital system posted a profit without getting government assistance.

Robert Sedler of the Law School was interviewed on the Mitch Albom Show during evening drive time regarding an anti-affirmative action initiative. The interview was conducted by guest host John McCulloch.

The sweeping California law that granted registered domestic partners many of the rights of married couples is raising confusion over one of the building blocks of a tax return: Whose income is it? The law, which took effect in 2005, treats two basic types of income differently on California tax returns. Though all income is considered community property, the law specifically bars registered partners from splitting their combined paychecks and other earned income on their state tax returns. They do split unearned income, such as dividends from stock. Michael J. McIntyre, a law professor at Wayne State University in Detroit , predicts the courts would shoot down income-splitting. That said, he thinks there\'s a strong enough argument to press the case. If the IRS rejects income-splitting, it\'s unclear how partners should treat money acquired as community property. Is it income? A gift?

Sterling Heights got the statistical equivalent of a box of chocolates and bouquet of roses at a Valentine\'s Day special City Council meeting. The preliminary results of the city\'s resident survey were delivered to council on Tuesday, Feb. 14, and the news for council members and administrators was good. Wayne State University \'s Center for Urban Studies conducted the survey, which sent out questionnaires to 3,000 randomly-selected city residents. A whopping 95 percent of respondents rated Sterling Heights as an excellent or good place to live. \"Looking at access to affordable, quality housing, ease of pedestrian travel, sense of community and overall appearance, they were all rated excellent or good by a majority of respondents,\" said Kristi Tanner, a director of survey research at the university. \"Respondents were less satisfied though with the revitalization of commercial areas and job opportunities.\"

A new study, the latest and most comprehensive of its kind, finds that Michigan is now facing a shortage of certain specialty physicians and will likely face a critical shortage of general practitioners by 2020. "Efforts to address the shortages must consider the needs of rural and inner city communities," said Robert Frank, dean of the Wayne State University School of Medicine. "While the medically underserved today are largely those on public health insurance and the low-income uninsured, the medically underserved of the future will include Michigan residents of varying means all over the state."

Former CMU football player James Cooper Jr. finalized a plea agreement Wednesday afternoon to avoid trial in the DeMarcus Graham homicide case. Richard Marcil, Cooper's attorney, said Cooper pled guilty to one count of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice. David Moran, associate dean and assistant law professor at Wayne State University , said often the defense will settle to reduce the risk of a tough sentence. "There is very good chance the attorneys, defense and prosecuting, have worked out what the punishment is going to be," Moran said. "Sentencing could depend on whether (Cooper's) cooperation could help the prosecutor's case."

The Wayne State University Symphonic Chorus will perform Giuseppe Verdi\'s \"Messa da Requiem\" in two performances with the Detroit Symphony Civic Orchestra at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 10 and at 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 12. Both performances of \"Messa da Requiem\" will also feature the 140-voice Archdiocesan Festival Chorus. The March 10 performance is being held at Detroit \'s Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament and the March 12 performance is being held at Orchestra Hall, both under the direction of Charles Burke.

Detroit Medical Center earned $13 million in 2005, the health system\'s top executive said Wednesday, marking the first time in eight years that Michigan \'s largest provider of medical care for the poor has turned a profit without help from a government bailout. CEO Michael Duggan doesn\'t believe the system\'s financial challenges are a thing of the past. But DMC has clearly come a long way from 2 1/2 years ago when it was on the brink of financial collapse. Not only did earnings grow fivefold, but revenue also grew a healthy 8.6% to $1.9 billion, Duggan said in an interview Wednesday. That\'s a marked improvement from 2004, when the system earned $2.5 million on revenue of $1.75 billion. But that profit included $24 million in tax money given to prevent the closure of Detroit Receiving Hospital and Hutzel Women\'s Hospital. DMC employs more than 12,000 people at its nine hospitals and various clinics and serves about 14% of the Detroit area\'s health needs, according to Fitch Ratings, a credit-rating agency that follows the financial performance of the area\'s major health systems.

Several states have made progress in aligning their high-school curricula with college standards and in better preparing their students for the demands of college and the workplace, according to a report released on Wednesday. However, the report\'s authors warn, education reformers have a \"long haul\" before them to raise high-school quality to meet the expectations of postsecondary education and the job market. The report, \"Closing the Expectations Gap 2006,\" was compiled by Achieve Inc., a nonprofit group based in Washington and formed by governors and business leaders to help raise national academic standards. The report derives from information provided by the states and is the first in a series of annual reports planned to track high-school reforms in all 50 states. Last February, at a National Education Summit on High Schools co-sponsored by Achieve, participants learned that one-third of students drop out of high school and that, of those who graduate and enter college, one-third require remedial courses. Statistics also indicated that nearly half of high-school graduates entered the workplace unprepared (The Chronicle, February 23, 2005).

Ann Arbor and Detroit both turn up on a list of the top 100 cities for funding from the National Institutes of Health. Ann Arbor was No. 12 on the list with $379.2 million in NIH funding. That\'s up from No. 15 on the previous year\'s list, when Ann Arbor won $371.1 million in NIH grants. Detroit was No. 47 in FY 2004 with $114.8 million, down from No. 44 a year earlier, with $114.3 million in funding.

Lawrence H. Summers resigned after a brief and turbulent tenure, nudged by Harvard's governing corporation, and facing a vote of no confidence from the influential Faculty of Arts and Sciences. The announcement raised questions about future leaders' ability to govern Harvard with its vocal and independent-minded faculty. Summers, who earns a base salary of $579,000 is to leave office June 30. Derek Bok, 75, who was Harvard's president from 1971 to 1991, will serve as interim president. Summers will be forever remembered for his statement last year that women might lack an intrinsic aptitude for math and science.

Harvard University\'s embattled president, Lawrence H. Summers, resigned this afternoon and will be replaced, on an interim basis, by Derek C. Bok, who was president of Harvard from 1971 to 1991. Mr. Bok was chosen to \"clean up the mess and make conditions right for the next president,\" said a senior professor with knowledge of the tumultuous events of today in Cambridge, Mass. Mr. Summers, who had been buffeted by controversy for more than a year, was expected to resign on Monday, the professor said, and this morning\'s Wall Street Journal said his resignation was imminent. In a public letter, Mr. Summers said his resignation would be effective on June 30. \"I have reluctantly concluded,\" He wrote, \"that the rifts between me and segments of the arts-and-sciences faculty make it infeasible for me to advance the agenda of renewal that I see as crucial to Harvard\'s future. I believe, therefore, that it is best for the university to have new leadership.\"

A brief article was published on a production of William Shakespeare's "Othello" being the fourth show of the season at Wayne State 's Bonstelle Theatre, running from March 3 to March 12.

Detroit may not have an equivalent to New York 's many off-Broadway houses, but it does have the Louise Heck-Rabi Dramatic Writing Competition. Audiences can catch a glimpse into what the future of theater might look like when this year's three Heck-Rabi-winning short plays are produced Feb. 23-25 and March 2-4 in the Studio Theatre, below the Hilberry Theatre on the Wayne State University campus in Detroit .

A page featuring write-ups and photos of Carlson High School 's top graduates indicates that two valedictorians, Kathleen LaForest and Ashley Sclafani, plan to study business at Wayne State University .

A mutation of an enzyme gene seems to protect the fetus against alcohol consumed by the mother, according to a study of mothers and their infants. Lead researcher Dr. Sandra W. Jacobson told Reuters Health that \"our research has shown that about 20 percent of African American children are born to mothers with a particular genetic (mutation), which makes it less likely that maternal drinking during pregnancy will adversely affect their child\'s development.\" This mutation, she added, \"has been shown to be related to the speed with which alcohol is metabolized by the mother. Unfortunately, most African American as well as Caucasian children are not protected by this (mutation) and are, therefore, at risk of developing fetal alcohol effects if their mothers drink heavily or even moderately during pregnancy.\" In the Journal of Pediatrics, Jacobson of Wayne State University in Detroit and colleagues report on their study of 263 mother and child pairs. Two hundred fourteen of the women consumed alcohol during pregnancy.

The Wayne State University men\'s hockey team (6-18-6, 3-8-5 CHA) will play its final regular-season road series this weekend at league-leading Alabama-Huntsville (16-10-2, 10-5-1 CHA). The Warriors split at home (3-4, 3-2) last weekend vs. Niagara , while UAH was swept at Air Force (3-1, 5-0). WSU trails Robert Morris and Air Force by one point for fourth place while the Chargers are tied for the top spot in the CHA with Bemidji State . The Warriors host Air Force to conclude the regular-season with UAH traveling to Bemidji on March 3-4.

Lawyers for Kid Rock went to federal court Tuesday to block the release of an explicit sex video featuring the rap-rocker, several women and former Creed singer Scott Stapp. Kid Rock\'s lawyers filed the lawsuit in Detroit against David Joseph and his California-based World Wide Red Light District, which made headlines in 2004 by distributing the Paris Hilton sex video. The lawsuit said Red Light is violating Kid Rock\'s privacy and trademark rights, and seeks a permanent order prohibiting the video\'s sale or distribution. Jessica Litman , a professor of law at Wayne State University , said Rock is unlikely to halt the video\'s distribution by arguing it exploits their names and public images. \"My guess is they\'re not going to get anywhere with that,\" said Litman, who specializes in copyright and trademark law. \"Under California law, or anybody\'s law, the name-and-face stuff generally doesn\'t prevent somebody from selling film footage that shows a person\'s behavior.\"

Baseball: Three-time defending tournament champion Grand Valley State narrowly edged Wayne State as the favorite to win the Great Lakes Conference regular-season title, according to a preseason coaches\' poll. Grand Valley received 54 points and five first-place votes. Wayne State , which won the GLIAC regular-season title last year, got 52 points and one first-place vote.