Activists from around the country gathered at Wayne State in Detroit Nov. 11-13 to work on a program for reversing the growing crisis of urban areas. The UAW, and AFL-CIO were represented at the meeting. The theme was "Feed the cities, starve the Pentagon," and called for a strong position against the war in Iraq and Afghanistan .

The WSU College of Engineering has presented the Socius Collegi Award to John Kill, president of the North America Customer Group with Visteon Corp. The award was presented at the annual Night of the Stars black-tie dinner, Nov. 17, at the Detroit Science Center . On that night, the college honors its most successful alumni by inducting them into its Hall of Fame. The Socius Collegi (friend of the college) award pays tribute to a person who is not an alumnus of the engineering college but whose contributions to its mission are noteworthy. Kill has an MBA degree from WSU. He has been a strong booster of university's Engineering and Management Master's Program. The story includes a photo of the award recipient.

A prominent story about Wayne State 's positive momentum and growth over the last decade, and plans for the future, are featured in the Detroit/Wayne County section. Wayne State is characterized as reinventing itself over the past decade. The university, with about 34,000 students, saw enrollment increase 9 percent between 2001 and 2005. In that period, the school opened new residence halls, classrooms and other student facilities and started construction of a technology park that it hopes will boost its status as a research institution. Currently under way is a series of 20 meetings on WSU\'s 2006-2011 operating plan. The meetings, which will continue through December, are intended to gather comment from everyone with a stake in the school\'s future. Officials hope to draw up and distribute a proposed five-year operating plan next spring and hope to present suggestions to the school\'s Board of Governors for approval in June. Implementation campuswide would begin in the fall of 2006. More information on WSU\'s strategic planning program can be found at www.wayne.edu. A photo of NextEnergy's technology center, currently under construction in Wayne State 's TechTown, is featured.

Wayne State University is noted in an opinion piece about the cycle of state funding cuts to public universities nationwide. According to Insidehighered.com, Michigan cut the school\'s funding forcing Wayne State to eliminate 200 staff jobs and \"close one college and combine two others to save on adminstrative costs.\" The writer adds that "what\'s happening at Wayne State is happening nationwide as state colleges are victimized by a federal government which is shortchanging education, and state governments which are slashing funding year after year."

During a Sunday afternoon interview about the ways the Old Newsboys benefit area children, an official mentioned that the Newsboys have a scholarship program in cooperation with Wayne State University .

Tom Wilson, CEO of Palace Sports & Entertainment in Auburn Hills, mentioned Wayne State several times during an interview on the "Anything is Possible" Show on Sunday evening. He pointed out that he could not afford to attend certain other universities after graduating from high school so he enrolled at " Wayne ," where most of his classes during his last two years were in the evening.

Jeff Stoltman, Wayne State marketing professor, commented in a story about the influence of the Super Bowl on home sales in Detroit . \"You can take advantage of all the people peering at Metro Detroit in the two weeks leading up to the game,\" Stoltman said. \"It creates urgency. It puts people in a good mood. It\'s exciting. I don\'t think home builders will rack up huge sales because of the Super Bowl, but if they are smart and make great presentations, they will move some homes.\"

Tom Watkins' Wayne State University study on e-learning opportunities is referenced in a story about flaws in the U.S. education system. Watkins wrote in the report about the need to expand e-learning opportunities if Michigan expects to keep pace with the ever-changing educational needs. \"Everyone knows that our schools are heading towards a cliff and yet there is a head-in-the-sand mentality and a let\'s pretend the actions (or inaction\'s) we take are addressing the issues,\'\' he said.

Community Forum: Wayne State professor George Galster will be a panelist Friday at the Humanities Education Center in Minneapolis. The panel discussion is titled "Targeted Investments and Neighborhood Development."

Kami Pothukuchi, associate professor of urban planning, is profiled in a story about metropolitan Detroit 's economic and urban development, particularly related to transportation. Pothukuchi says her goal is to help make Wayne State one of the rare Detroit institutions that's actually involved in developing a transportation alternative for tens of thousands of students and employees, 80 percent of whom commute, primarily alone, in private vehicles. A photo of Pothukuchi is included.

Former educator, Edward L. Davis, says that top-heavy bureaucracies are diminishing America 's schools, and the schools are behind on the technological learning curve. He agrees with Tom Watkins, who recently wrote a report for Wayne State University that technology is under-employed in today's schools.

Chemokine Therapeutics Corp., a biotechnology company developing therapies to treat cancer, blood disorders and other diseases, has a research agreement with Wayne State University . The company will provide materials to university cancer researchers for experiments including some involving prostate cancer. The company focuses on products that harness the therapeutic potential of stem cells.

Wayne State announced today that all 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 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.

Wayne State's Opera Workshop will present four free performance of Seymour Barab's "The Toy Shop," a one-act opera for young audiences as their annual holiday offering Wed. Nov. 30th, at 10 a.m. The group will perform shows for Detroit-area schools. All performances will be held on Wayne 's campus in the Community Arts Auditorium.

Enrollment is up at Michigan 's 15 public universities despite an average 11 percent tuition increase. WSU has 25 more undergraduate students than last year, according to the chart that ran with the story.

Wayne State 's School of Medicine is noted as one of Michigan four medical schools planning to increase enrollment. WSU plans to add about 30 students to its first-year classes in 2006. More than 2,700 students applied for 260 openings, said Mark Juzych, medical school assistant dean for graduate medical education. Wayne State 's medical school, which is the nation\'s largest single medical school campus, also has a program that takes in about a dozen students from disadvantaged backgrounds. If they do well in the first year, they can proceed to medical school. New technology, such as communication devices that allow students to learn remotely, also will help schools grow without costly new buildings, Juzych said. But more help is needed, he added. Photos of Wayne State medical students are included.

Jacquelin Washington , Wayne State University Board of Governors chair, was one of the honorees recognized by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) during its annual dinner Nov. 19 in Dearborn . Actor and activist Danny Glover was the keynote speaker.

Scholarships: Wayne State 's Department of Music, in conjunction with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, announced the Presidential/DSO Scholarships in Music, designed to support future music majors. Beginning in fall 2006, the scholarships will be available to five students - four string musicians and one pianist. Each full-tuition scholarship will be renewable for up to four years, with a cumulative value of more than $30,000. The Wayne State Office of the Provost has provided funding for these scholarships.

Wayne State 's Walter P. Reuther Library and Detroit 's top photographers have submitted one-of-a-kind images for holiday card designs to the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute. The institute is offering packs of 10 cards for $14.95. Proceeds will benefit the organization's designated causes.

As its annual offering, the Wayne State University Opera Workshop will perform Seymour Barab's one-act opera "The Toy Shop for young audiences. Under the direction of Frances Brockington, the WSU Opera Workshop will perform four free shows: for Detroit-area schools at 10 a.m. Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, and for the public at 7 p.m. Dec. 1 and 2. All performances will take place on Wayne State 's main campus in the Community Arts Auditorium.