The Maggie Allesee Department of Dance featured in the weekly WTVS program "Get Up! Get Out!"

The Maggie Allesee Department of Dance was featured in the weekly WTVS program Get Up! Get Out! Wayne State partners every year with the world-renowned American Ballet Theatre (ABT) to host the ABT Summer Intensive for over 100 young ballet students from across North America . A month of intense training and master classes in the Dance Department culminates with a performance at the Detroit Opera House. Lecturer Stephen Stone is interviewed in the feature. His says the prestigious dance program is crucial to the development and socialization of the promising young dancers who participate.

July 22, 2005

No dummy: Computerized crash tests pave the way for improved car safety

Researchers at Wayne State University are working to mimic the effects of a car crash's impact on the human body in a controlled and virtual environment. Professor King H. Yang, director of Wayne State 's Bioengineering Center , has spent more than 15 years developing computerized-crash models which, he says are far more economical for developing auto-safety standards. "Fifteen years ago we developed a computerized crash-dummy model, but after about five years, we decided that if we can develop a model for crash-test dummies, why not develop a model for human beings?" Yang says. "After all, we want to protect humans not crash dummies." A photo of Yang is included.

July 22, 2005

Dissident unions may secede from AFL-CIO

Douglas Fraser, former UAW president and university professor at Wayne State , commented about the AFL-CIO's struggle to prevent the Teamsters and four other dissident unions from seceding from the nation's largest federation of labor unions. The dissident unions' central complaint is that under AFL-CIO President John Sweeney the federation has spent too little money recruiting new members and too much on political campaigns. "We're playing the same record - we've been there, done that, and we didn't find the answer with that approach (seceding from the AFL-CIO)," Fraser said. "Leaving was not our finest hour."

July 22, 2005

Group begins effort to defeat anti-affirmative action proposal

As a state elections board deadlocked over placing an anti-affirmative action proposal on the November ballot, a grass-roots coalition has launched an effort aimed at defeating the measure, which calls for a constitutional amendment banning use of gender or racial preferences in university admissions and governmental hiring. The opponents say the petitioners deceived signers by misrepresenting the proposal's true intent and calling it a civil rights initiative. Dean Frank Wu of the WSU Law School noted that affirmative action admissions policies were found to be a "compelling state interest" by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2003. He said racial diversity on campuses of many universities in California Washington and Texas , which passed similar bans, has declined into single-digit percentages. About 20 percent of Wayne State Law School students are minorities, he said.

July 20, 2005

Mentoring programs for Hispanic faculty can enhance retention

Wayne State's Center for Chicano-Boricua Studies (CBS) is the subject of a feature story examining the historical development of the center and its future as it approaches its 35th anniversary. Jorge Chinea, CBS director, is quoted extensively in the piece.

July 18, 2005

Immigration Insights

Wayne State Law School Professor William Dance discusses whether deportation is or is not a punishment. He says, "If the legal function that deportation is not punishment is continued, and deportation proceedings are classified as civil in nature, then the constitution is easily stood on its head." Dance stresses that more people should do something about this issue.

July 18, 2005

Calendar

The Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association's Legal Assistants Committee hosted a development session at Wayne State on July 28. On Aug. 9, Wayne State's Law School will host a "Garage Class Reunion" for the classes of 1943-1966.

July 15, 2005

Newsmakers, Rainmakers

In a recent decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed with Wayne State University Law School Professor David Moran's argument in Halbert v. Michigan that a person who has pled guilty to a crime and seeks permission to appeal has a constitutional right to state-provided counsel. "I'm very pleased that the court has rejected Michigan 's attempt to gut the fundamental right to an attorney on a first appeal from a criminal conviction," said Moran.

July 15, 2005

Plymouth professor picks up honor

Wayne State Professor Sean Gavin of Plymouth received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers presented by President George W. Bush at a special ceremony at the U.S. Department of Treasury. The PECASE award is the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. Government on scientists and engineers who are in the early stages of their careers.

July 14, 2005

State funds and tuition remain unsettled

State universities are still uncertain as to how much to raise tuition for this year. Wayne State and Northern Michigan would see large cuts under the House and Senate plans. Wayne State's budget director, Vanessa Rose said, "Frankly, we're working on a strategy right now." Wayne State would lose $13 million under the spending plans. Rose also added that not knowing the state appropriation makes it difficult for universities to create tuition estimates.

July 12, 2005

Charter One president honored by Wayne State

The WSU School of Business Administration recognized Sandra Pierce, president of Charter One Bank, with the Alumni of the Year Award. She earned bachelor's and MBA degrees from Wayne State . Pierce delivered the keynote address at the school's Alumni Association gathering. A photo of the award recipient at a lectern with a prominent Wayne State sign visible accompanies the story.

June 29, 2005

Ex-slave's story reads better than fiction

"The Autobiography of William Sanders Scarborough; An American Journey from Slavery to Scholarship" is a first-hand account of the rise of a black American from slavery to university president. The book by Wayne State Classics, Greek and Latin Associate Professor Michele Ronnick was published by the Wayne State University Press.

June 26, 2005

Research: Wayne State researcher wins Presidential Award

Sean Gavin, associate professor of physics, has received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, presented by President George Bush. Gavin received the award for his research in physics theory related to the Big Bang. He also developed a community outreach project tied to his research that will train K-12 teachers to help students better understand scientific theories in a historical and social context.

June 16, 2005

Technology Tri-Corridor awards $27 million for life sciences

Gov. Jennifer Granholm has announced that 24 grant winners, including projects at Wayne State, will share $27.3 million in Michigan Technology Tri-Corridor funding this year. In a program headed by Neural Intervention Technologies of Ann Arbor, that will advance technology for the treatment of aneurysms, WSU and medical centers in Kalamazoo and Phoenix will participate in clinical trials.

June 16, 2005

TechTown student needs help to get to Harvard

Jeannette Perryman, a Detroit Northwestern High School junior, has been accepted for the prestigious Harvard Summer School program for high school students and needs assistance with tuition and board. Perryman participates in a student program at WSU's Techtown, "Detroit's only research and technology park." The Parent Child Computer Learning Foundation brings Wayne State University students together with high school students to provide mentoring during the academic year. A start-up company at TechTown, Academic Computing Environments, has voluntarily created a computer lab for student use. The article gives an address where donors can send checks to Perryman to help cover expense of attendance at the Harvard summer program.

June 16, 2005

Engineering camp for girls offers a different kind of summer

Wayne State University is offering a Woman in Engineering Training four-week summer program starting Monday for a group of talented girls who will enter high school next fall. "We want to motivate them before high school when their dreams are still strong," says Gerald Thompkins, associate dean and director of the program. Participants attend computer classes, an aerospace class and they learn about Mars surface exploration projects while building model Mars Rovers and landscapes. On Fridays, they travel to nearby points of interest for fun and additional learning experiences. A contact phone number is given for registrations.

June 16, 2005

WSU offers engineering training institute for high schoolers

High school students can get a head start on an engineering career by attending the High School Engineering Training Institute at Wayne State. Sponsored by the College of Engineering, the program familiarizes participants with hands-on engineering techniques and strengthens their academic competencies in math, science, computers and English. The cost is $250. Sign-up information is given for the June 20-July 15 program.

June 16, 2005

ISSS director resigns

David Austell, director of International student and scholar services at the University of South Florida, will resign July 15 to take a position as executive director of international programs at Wayne State University.

June 16, 2005

Wayne State wins three IABC Best of Show awards

Wayne State earned a Detroit-record three Best of Show awards in the recent International Association of Business Communicators annual Renaissance Awards competition. Included were awards for "communications and technology" for the WSU games site designed for prospective students, "writing and proofreading" and "art and design" (for Wayne State Magazine). The university also won four other awards in the competition.

June 16, 2005

Habitat for Humanity

A story about Habitat for Humanity's work projects in Michigan mentions that out-of-town volunteers working in the Detroit area are staying in dorms at Wayne State, where they pay for their own room and board.

June 16, 2005