Wayne Teacher of the week: Louis B. Offer, University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy
Louis B. Offer, a Wayne State graduate with a Master's of Education in Social Studies, from the College of Education , is teacher of the week.
In the news
D.C. honors civil rights icon
Wayne State 's Melba Boyd, chair of the Department of Africana Studies, commented about the death of civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks. Boyd said Parks is not only a national icon, but a human incarnation of what the Statue of Liberty is supposed to symbolize. \"She\'s one of those profound persons who has managed to not only change the nation but also change the character of the way we think of democracy,\" Boyd said. \"That she\'s not someone engaged in electoral politics in a significant way demonstrates that it has to come from a place much deeper than persons who deal with the processes or the pretense of nationhood, rather from someone who actually put her life out there, and did it with such dignity and did it in a way that was so uncharacteristic of a country that has to make a statement about violence and liberation.\"
CAROL CAIN/SMALL BUSINESS: Ginopolis brothers keep home fires burning
In her story about restaurant owner Johnny Ginopolis, business columnist Carol Cain mentions that among his philanthropic activities over the years, he endowed a chair at Wayne State University named after his oldest son, Georgie, who died of a blood disease at the age of 4.
Film festival has new venues, partners
The Detroit Docs International Film Festival, now in its fourth year, will be hosted by two new venues this year after breaking from last year's main partner, Wayne State University . Last year Wayne State provided free venues and helped publicize the festival. Festival director Todd Hardin said the university helped them out a great deal last year "but their facilities just aren't up to par, really, for films. They are really meant for lecture halls," Hardin said. "The decision was their decision, not ours…and a lot of that was because of the resources they needed to help produce the festival," Hardin added. Cheryl Yurkovich, Wayne State 's public relations director, said the university did not have the resources available to handle the project this year.
Southfield developer named in report on oil-for-food scandal
Among the handful of Americans named by Paul Volcker in his final report on the United Nations oil-for-food scandal is Shakir al-Khafaji, a Southfield developer with ties to Iraq . Al-Khafaji, the report says, was given 12 million barrels of valuable oil allocations between 1995 and 2002 from Saddam's Baathist government for facilitating oil deals. Al-Khafaji is noted as a former student at Wayne State University and Lawrence Technological University in the 1970's and as a campaign contributor to David Bonior, now a professor at Wayne State .
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Peter Lichtenberg, director of the Institute of Gerontology , interviewed professor Mark Luborsky of the Institute faculty regarding the influence of culture on health. The interview, which is part of the community's "Services for Older Citizens" programming, will begin airing today.
Women trades dealer experience for funeral biz
Sarah Lee-Ellena is quitting the car business, where she was general manager of Bill Lee Oldsmobile, to open a funeral parlor. She is doing this through the mortuary science program at Wayne State University . She plans to take the customer-service and sales skills to the new business.
GLIAC/MIAA
Wayne State 's football team defeated Gannon 14-7. Chris Middlebrooks gained 177 years rushing for the Warriors and Darren Haynes and Jake Weingartz scored Wayne State 's two touchdowns.
WSU conference explores cutting costs through shared community services
Wayne State University is kicking off a two-day conference, "Creating Collaborative Communities," to educate and encourage communities to search for ways to pool their resources for shared needs. Conference organizer Asst. Professor of Political Science Jared Carr said part of the genesis of the conference is an observance of the 70th anniversary of the university's school of public administration. The other part is an observance of an existing drive by communities to put collaborative agreements into place. "The Michigan Suburbs Alliance, the governor's office, the University of Michigan and the Citizen's Research Council are working on this issue," Carr said.
The survey says…
On Oct. 18, the City Council of Sterling Heights voted to award the contract for the 2005 Sterling Heights Residential Survey to the Center for Urban Studies at Wayne State . The survey will be sent randomly to 3,000 people in the Sterling Heights area. The survey will cost the city $23,167 and will ask residents of their opinion on the police and fire departments in the city. The survey will allow the residents to rate the city services as excellent, good, fair or poor.
Wayne State names residence hall for Ghafari
Wayne State University has honored alumnus and benefactor Yousif Ghafari by renaming the former North Residence Hall after him. A member of the university's capital campaign steering committee, Ghafari gave the university's fundraising campaign a major boost with a pledge of $9 million earlier this year. "Yousif Ghafari's generous gift is a wonderful testimony to his commitment to higher education and to Wayne State University in particular," said President Irvin D. Reid. A photo of Ghafari, who is founder and chairman of an architectural and design consultation firm that bears his name, accompanies this four-column, top-of-the-page story.
NOV. 8 DECISIONS: Suburban voters divide on tax increases to cover basic services
In a story about voter reaction to proposed tax increases in local communities to cover basic services, the "Creating Collaborative Communities" conference is noted as scheduled at Wayne State University 's McGregor Conference Center Monday and Tuesday. The two-day conference will explore how cities can share services and save money without raising taxes.
Explaining the charges
Law professor Peter Henning is quoted in a story about the perjury and obstruction of justice indictments against Vice President Dick Cheney's Chief of Staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald will have to prove the perjury charges in order to prove the obstruction of justice charge, because the obstruction charges revolves around the lies Libby allegedly told. Henning said "obstruction is a broader crime."
Labor after C-section tougher for overweight women
Though women who have had a cesarean section can often deliver vaginally with their next pregnancy, the odds of success may be lower for overweight and obese women, according to researchers led Dr. Peter Baumann of Wayne State University . Their study of nearly 8,600 pregnant women with a history of C-section found that the likelihood of a successful vaginal delivery dipped as a woman's weight climbed. Overweight and obese women were more likely than their lighter peers to require a C-section after an attempt at vaginal delivery failed.
Disappearance of S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald is subject of WSU theater's docudrama
"Ten November,\" a docudrama about the sinking of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald, is discussed in this article. The play opens Oct. 28 and runs through Nov. 6 at Wayne State University 's Bonstelle Theatre. The Bonstelle production, directed by Lavinia Hart, tells the story with a mix of monologues and short vignettes interspersed with folk songs. \"In one sense it\'s a docudrama because there are a lot of facts presented, but in another sense it\'s a very creative, moving, fictionalized depiction of the event,\" Hart said. \"It culminates in a total effect of being able to step inside the lives of sailors who worked the Great Lakes from the 17th century to the present day.\"
Parks' legacy extends to arts
The Star used an article that originally appeared in the Detroit Free Press and contains quotes from Melba Joyce Boyd of the WSU Africana Studies Department. The article deals with Rosa Parks' influence on modern culture through songs, poems, literature and plays. "When people reach that level of impact, that's what happens," Boyd said.
Age-old tradition
A story about Halloween traditions includes comments by professor Janet Langlois of the English Department. An expert in folklore, Langlois points out that many believe that Halloween customs were brought to this country by Irish Immigrants who came here during the Great Potato Famine. The Celts, who lived in what is now Ireland about 2,000 years ago, observed a festival call Samhaim in which the ghosts of deceased persons came back to the outer world to mingle with the living." She said some Halloween traditions, such as trick-or-treating, jack-o-lanterns and pranks date back to the Celtic era, while others came about in more recent times.
Coughlin-Bowen timeline may be critical to Wal-Mart suit
This story, about a complicated case involving embezzlement charges against a former Wal-Mart vice chairman and a former vice president who charged that the vice chairman had embezzled company funds, includes comments by WSU law professor Peter Henning. He explained the case boils down to a matter of contract law. "It's who are you going to believe - the degree of knowledge on each side," Henning said.
Each week, a different home
A story about homeless people who benefit from a temporary shelter program that rotates to different sites each week, includes a vignette about 43-year-old Jon Broadnax, one of the participants. During the day, he attends classes at Wayne State , where he is majoring in computer programming. He also writes poems, such as one that depicts a conversation with God.
People on the Move: Education
Jason J. VanDiver of Southgate has joined the Wayne State Office of Alumni Relations as an alumni relations officer.