Wayne State announced that students who enroll for Fall 2006 at the university under The Kalamazoo Promise program will be offered a 50 percent reduction in their room costs in the WSU residence halls. The Kalamazoo Promise will provide free tuition to Kalamazoo school district graduate to attend a public college or university in Michigan . Funding is being provided by a group of anonymous donors.

A constitutional law scholar, clergy and others spoke out Tuesday against a proposal to show the Ten Commandments in the Capitol and argued the main purpose of the display would be religious, not secular. Wayne State law professor Robert Sedler told state lawmakers and the Granholm administration that the U.S. constitution affords no place for God in the public square. "In the American constitutional system, the place for God is in the home, the church, the synagogue, the mosque and the temple," said Sedler. "By keeping God out of the public square and putting God into our homes and our religious institutions, the Constitution protects the religious freedom of all of us."

Mazzei, the arts writer for Metro Times wrote an extensive review of the new Wayne State University Press book -- American City : Detroit Architecture1845-2005. The review includes nine color photos of some of the buildings featured in the book --http://www.metrotimes.com/editorial/story.asp?id=8550. The book covers the work of such renowned architects as Daniel Burnham, Stanford White, Cass Gilbert, Frank Lloyd Wright, Minoru Yamasaki and Philip Johnson. The project started a couple of years ago when two guys on assignment for The New York Times came to Detroit to do a story about the renovation of the Book-Cadillac Hotel. Architecture critic Robert Sharoff and photographer William Zbaren decided to walk around downtown and were so fascinated with the buildings that they decided to collaborate on a book. The result is an informative, gorgeously executed and desperately needed book. It showcases 50 buildings, including museums, schools, monuments and libraries. There are 90 color illustrations; full-page, full-bleed images and double-truck photo spreads set off by ample white space, giving the glorious larger-than-life sculptures room to breathe.

Wayne State University 's School of Business Administration has announced the selection of Alain R. Piette as the recipient of the Adams Entrepreneur Fellowship. The school received a grant in support of the fellowship from the Community Foundation of Southeastern Michigan. Administered by Terry Cross, executive in residence at the school, the WSU program selected Piett to work with a start-up firm called SpaceForm, Inc. in TechTown for a period of one year. The company is a subsidiary of Delphi Corp.

Photo and caption -- The Michigan Lawyer chapter of the American Constitution Society and Wayne State University Law School hosted a symposium on achieving a diverse democracy. The photo features Dean Frank Wu with Kim Hertler, WSU student and ACS chapter president, and others who spoke at the event.

An entry in the calendar notes that The Black Law Students Association and the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association at Wayne State Law School planned to host a Jazz Night on Dec. 8.

A proposal to create a land bank authority in Detroit has been before city Council since spring, but the fate of the plan is uncertain. "There are very few neighborhoods in Detroit where the prospects of gentrification are so strong that the need to preserve affordable housing is a crucial challenge," says George Galster, professor of urban affairs at Wayne State . "...the distinction that's being fought over is the land bank, which would have a variety of members who would not be directly appointed by city council, versus the trust, which would be a nonprofit organization that could have a board appointed by council."

Wayne State University law professor Robert Sedler told state lawmakers and the Granholm administration that the U.S. Constitution affords no place for God in the public square. "In the American constitutional system, the place for God is in the home, the church, the synagogue, the mosque and the temple," he said.

A story about Western Michigan University offering free housing next year to Kalamazoo High School graduates mentions that Wayne State is "cutting its dorm rate in half to lure Kalamazoo graduates to Detroit ." The story mentions that some Kalamazoo-area residents are peeved that Western is not extending its offer to students who did not graduate from schools other than those in the Kalamazoo Public Schools system.

The federal government's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is suggesting a new strategy to protect infants from potentially fatal whooping cough: Immunize adults. "Parents often are coughing (even as) they say they have no idea where the infant got this," said Dr. Basim Asmar, a Detroit Medical Center pediatrician and Wayne State University professor, who treated an infant last month for whooping cough.

Wayne State University Law School appointed Douglas Czajkowski, formerly president of the hospital foundation at Mt. Clemens General Hospital , as director of development and alumni affairs.

Cheryl Verbruggen, a Troy resident, has been appointed director of University Budgets, effective Nov. 1. Verbruggen earned a bachelor's degree in accounting from Oakland University and a master's degree in administration from Central Michigan University .

Rebecca Meyer, a 6-foot-2 high school senior who loves to play basketball, will be attending Wayne State next year on a basketball scholarship. "I talked to a few other schools," she said. "I really liked the WSU campus, I know it's in Detroit , and people have certain ideas about that. But the campus is really nice." She is pictured in a photo accompanying the story.

Wayne head baseball coach Jay Alexander announced the signing of two student-athletes to a National Letter of Intent. Ryan LaPansee and Michael Wiseman have committed to join the Warriors in the fall semester of 2006.

Eastern Michigan's men's and women's swimming teams will host the EMU Invitational. Wayne State is among the participating teams.

Northern Kentucky had a basketball victory in Detroit against the Wayne State Warriors 76-48.

For workers losing their jobs, the most natural and unhealthy thought accompanying job loss is self-blame, said Wayne State University industrial psychologist Cary Lichtman, who has gone through a layoff himself. \"It is not a rational thought,\" he added. \"Even though there are 29,999 (other) people who are also losing their jobs, they always think it\'s something they did." Lichtman said younger workers would be able to bounce back more easily. \"The younger you are when this happens, the better off you are,\" he said. \"Younger people are better able to absorb this. There is less of a feeling of entitlement. They can\'t say, \'I have given 30 years of my life to this company.\'"

This column lists three professionals who have been named to the WSU College of Engineering Hall of Fame. They are Lushman Singh Grewal, chief financial officer of Singh Development Co.; Grace Bochenek, executive officer at the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center; and Athanacios Nasr, vice president at Desai/Nasr Consulting Engineers, Inc.

Wayne State University announced that students who enroll for fall 2006 under The Kalamazoo Promise program will be offered a 50 percent reduction in their room costs in the WSU residence halls. The offer will be good for four years to participating students providing they remain eligible for and are in receipt of a tuition scholarship from The Kalamazoo Promise. "This is our way of demonstrating support for both the visionary donors underwriting the program and Gov. Jennifer Granholm's challenge to Michigan 's universities to encourage citizens to pursue higher education," said Wayne State University President Irvin D. Reid . "We are proud to offer this incentive to our students as a further enhancement of the university's admissions strategy of providing affordable access to education."

Tom Watkins, a former state superintendent of public instruction, recently wrote a report for Wayne State and Michigan Virtual University on the need to expand e-learning opportunities. He was also quoted on the subject.