Another coffee perk: antioxidants

Catherine Jen, a nutrition professor and chair of WSU's Department of Nutrition and Food Science, said previous research has shown that about one-third of people's antioxidants come from coffee, because it is such a popular drink.

August 28, 2005

Law school hosts 'Celebrate the Bar' event

Wayne State 's Law School will host a "Celebrate with the Bar" event Wednesday, Sept. 7, at the Spencer Partrich Auditorium from 4-7 p.m. Students are invited to attend an informal gathering with representatives from the State Bar of Michigan along with local and specialty bar associations.

August 26, 2005

Memos

Alan Reinstein, George R. Hubbard professor of accounting at Wayne State , was named chair-elect of the Teaching and Curriculum Section of the American Accounting Association.

August 25, 2005

Community committee to save CBS negotiates with WSU

Wayne State History Professor Jose Cuello highlighted a recent meeting between WSU administrators and the Community Committee to Save CBS (Center for Chicano-Boricua Studies). Cuello said the Aug. 17 meeting agenda involved negotiating the conditions that will allow CBS to continue as a center and open up the possibility of its growth and prosperity in the future.

August 25, 2005

In Our Opinion: Law enforcement to get training in recognizing vulnerable adult abuse

Wayne State 's Developmental Disabilities Institute (DDI) is commended in an editorial for their participation in a law enforcement training program on vulnerable adult abuse. In partnership with other organizations, DDI is offering training on vulnerable abuse for prosecutors, advocates and law enforcement officers to meet the needs of a growing aging population, and 54 million people nationwide with disabilities. Training sessions titled "Understanding and Investigating Vulnerable Adult Abuse and Neglect: The Role of Law Enforcement," will be offered throughout the state until November. Participants will learn skills needed to identify adult abuse, obtain accurate information from vulnerable adults and determine proper measures to offer assistance.

August 25, 2005

Wayne State workshops

The Wayne State University Alumni Association this fall will offer three new "CareerBoost!" workshops aimed at those who graduated from the university in the past 10 years. A description of the three workshops is offered and contact information provided.

August 25, 2005

Birth control pioneer also a playwright

"An Immaculate Misconception," a play written by Dr. Carl Djerassi, inventor of the birth control pill, will be presented by Wayne State University 's College of Fine , Performing and Communication Arts, Sept. 7-17, in the Hilberry Theatre. Department of Theatre Chair Blair Anderson likens the opportunity to present this play as a perfect amalgam of arts, science and education. "Dr. Djerassi understands education, he understands how to tell fiction and he understands chemistry. 'An Immaculate Misconception' is a synthesis of the three that is unique," Anderson said.

August 25, 2005

Carol Cain/Oakland: New mother gets creative with baby duds

Brinda Devine, real estate officer at Wayne State , is featured in Carol Cain's column. Outside her job at WSU, Devine runs an Internet-based company part-time from her home. The company sells creative clothing for young children. Devine employs two seamstresses, works at the business in the early morning and late evening, and is thinking about opening a store. A phone number and Web address for the business are given.

August 25, 2005

Ministers of influence

A story about Detroit churches providing platforms for speeches by mayoral candidates carries a sidebar that mentions that Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and challenger Freman Hendrix will debate on Oct. 17 at Wayne State . The debate is sponsored by WDIV-TV and Clear Channel Radio.

August 25, 2005

Ex-Kmart CEO charged with fraud

Peter Henning, a former SEC and Justice Department lawyer and Wayne State University law professor, says he was surprised at how narrow the case is involving former Kmart executives currently being sued for their actions in the retail chain's bankruptcy. "It reminds me of the old song, 'Is that all there is?' Everyone had known for a long time that Kmart was a high-risk investment," Henning says. He also predicted lawyers will question whether the statements surrounding the vendors were "material" to a company with annual revenue of $37 billion.

August 24, 2005

Kmart: Big buys, bigger lies

Randolph Paschke, chair of the accounting department in the School of Business Administration , commented in a story about a lawsuit filed Tuesday against former Kmart Corp. Chief Executive Officer Chuck Conaway and his chief financial officer John McDonald Jr. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, alleges that Conaway and McDonald engaged in numerous deceptions to conceal actions that led to the largest bankruptcy in U.S. retail history in January 2002. Paschke said former Kmart shareholders will most likely have to accept their payoff in the form of justice, not monetary compensation.

August 24, 2005

Accounting firms vow not to kick hobbled KPMG

Stephen Calkins, an antitrust expert at Wayne State, agreed that the world's top three accounting firms - Deloitte & Touche LLP, Ernst & Young LLP, and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP - need a healthy KPMG to reassure Washington that there is competition in the industry. "Without KPMG, "life would be very awkward for the Big 3 accounting firms," Calkins told Bloomberg News.

August 24, 2005

Carla K. Johnson

Dr. Susan Stine, who trains addiction psychiatry residents at Wayne State 's School of Medicine , discussed a study that says "ultra rapid detox" using anesthesia for withdrawal from heroin and prescription painkillers can be life-threatening. "People think this [anesthesia] is a nice, pleasant way to sleep through the misery of opiate detoxification," Stine says. "This is research that's been needed for some time." Stine was not involved in the new study.

August 24, 2005

People on the Move

A brief under "Associations" notes that Theodore G. Coutilish, of Wayne State University , as been elected president of the International Association of Business Communicators/Detroit, for the 2005-2006 term.

August 24, 2005

Cynicism and sacrificial lambs

Robert Sedler, professor of constitutional law, commented about the Michigan Republican Party's choice of Rev. Keith Butler as a challenger to U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow in next year's senate race. "The one touchstone for blacks in politics today is affirmative action," Sedler said. Republicans may indeed be able to appeal to African-Americans on a number of social issues. But not on this, according to Sedler. If Butler comes out against affirmative action, he will instantly lose any credibility in the black community.

August 24, 2005

Oakland People in the News

Michael Rybak, professor of pharmacy and medicine and associate dean of research at the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, has been named to the expert panel for the Antimicrobial Resistance Prevention Initiative, sponsored by the American Society of Microbiology and the Society of Health Care Epidemiology of America. The panel is presenting a Webcast on antimicrobial resistance and management strategies, which also will be printed in a supplement to the American Journal of Medicine and the American Journal of Infection Control.

August 24, 2005

Sponsors pull program's cash awards

A story about cancellation of the Great Lakes Entrepreneur's Quest competition this fall notes that Wayne State has been one of the backers. The sponsors, which also include U-M, MSU, the Michigan Economic Development Corp. and the Zell-Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies, cited budgetary constraints as the reason.

August 23, 2005

Training to protect potential victims

Wayne State 's Developmental Disabilities Institute (DDI), in partnership with other organizations, is offering training on vulnerable abuse for prosecutors, advocates and law enforcement officers to meet the needs of a growing aging population, and 54 million people nationwide with disabilities. Training sessions, titled "Understanding and Investigating Vulnerable Adult Abuse and Neglect: The Role of Law Enforcement," will be offered throughout the state until November. Participants will learn skills needed to identify adult abuse, obtain accurate information from vulnerable adults and determine proper measures to offer assistance.

August 23, 2005

Northwest's strike toll: 1,200 jobs gone

About 1,200 union jobs have been eliminated since Northwest Airlines employees walked off the job three days ago. Northwest has closed 29 of 32 maintenance bases at airports across the country except Detroit , Minneapolis and Milwaukee . The cuts have eliminated or replaced about 400 mechanics and 800 plane cleaners, who are among the 4,400 members of the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association walking picket lines. "In flush times, skilled workers feel they're better off going it alone," said Steve Babson, who teaches labor relations at Wayne State University . "In times like today, they may be better off with a more broadly defined union to present a broader front and backed by more financial resources."

August 23, 2005

Audit Firms Tell Partners Not to Poach KPMG Clients

The three largest U.S. accounting firms ordered their partners not to poach clients or personnel from smaller rival KPMG LLP while it is under federal scrutiny for allegedly selling abusive tax shelters. The three firms are worried that KPMG\'s demise would leave thousands unemployed and possibly prompt authorities to order the breakup of the remaining firms. Without KPMG, ``life would be very awkward for the Big Three accounting firms,\'\' said Professor Stephen Calkins, an antitrust expert at the Wayne State University Law School . ``There would be more chance that government officials would decide that competition is not working here and something drastic needs to be done.\'\'

August 23, 2005