In the news

SOAR program now registering for spring

The Society of Active Retirees (SOAR) announces its spring term and class schedule that will run from April 11-May 20. Registration for the program has begun and will continue through March 30. SOAR is a community-based initiative of Wayne State University that provides non-credit courses, social enrichments and personal growth opportunities for adults 50 years of age or older. A volunteer faculty comprised of retired and current Wayne State University faculty members present more than 50 classes and lectures.

E. Lynn Harris coming to Wayne State April 1

Gay author E. Lynn Harris will be speaking at WSU about life as a gay man while being a minority on Friday, April 1. Author of \"Invisible Life\" and \"Just As I Am,\" Harris has been featured on Out Magazine\'s \"Out 100\" list and New York Magazine\'s \"Gay Power 101.\" A popular college lecturer, Harris has spoken at the colleges and universities all across the country and will speak at 7 p.m. in the General Lectures Hall on the main campus of WSU. This event is free and open to the public.

AG says opinion authorizes discrimination against university employees, two Michigan universities reviewing the decision

U of M has joined Wayne State University and the city of Ann Arbor in fighting a lawsuit against the Ann Arbor school district\'s domestic partnership policy. Both universities have filed Friend of the Court briefs in support of the school district\'s right to treat the families of gay and lesbian employees equally. The suit, filed by the Thomas More Law Center, will begin April 5 in an Ingham County appeals court.

Detroit man is accused of aiding terrorists

A former Detroit Public Schools official, whose lawyer says is an adjunct engineering professor at Wayne State, was being held in jail Wednesday after a hearing before a U.S. magistrate. Kifah Wael Jayyousi of Detroit was arrested at Detroit Metro Airport Sunday after returning from Qatar, where he is working for a Dearborn company. Jayyousi and two other men are accused by the government of helping to set up a North American network to provide support to extremists fighting in Bosnia, Chechnya, Kosovo and Somalia. His lawyer said the federal charges are bogus and his client should be released pending trial. The story ran on the AP wire and was widely reported in print and electronic media nationwide.

Liberal arts majors qualify for variety of jobs

The National Association of Colleges and Employers has released a compilation of the top 20 skills that employers seek. Ranked number one was verbal and written communication skills. Many college graduates are hired in jobs, which are not in the concentration they have studied in college. "When the economy is down, it is always a good idea to stash away some good education," said Michael Belzer, associate professor of urban and labor studies at Wayne State. But with the economy picking up after recent setbacks, "Now is a great time to get out in the job market," he noted.

Event touts Chavez's work

Kathleen Schmeling, interim associate director of the Walter P. Reuther Library, commented extensively about migrant farm worker organizer Cesar E. Chavez. The Reuther Library houses Chavez\'s personal papers and an oral history he made before his death in 1993. Philip Mason, professor emeritus of the Reuther Library, is noted as an associate of Chavez during the United Farm Worker\'s (UFW) strikes against table grape growers and lettuce growers in the San Joaquin River Valley of California. Schmeling was in Lansing on March 30 with an exhibition the Reuther Library mounted called \"La Causa,\" Spanish for the cause, that \"covers 40 years of the UFW and the issues they faced,\" Schmeling said.

DMC shows sign of health for '04

The Detroit Medical Center (DMC) beat its own forecasts and earned more than $2 million in 2004 -- the first time in seven years there has been black ink on the bottom line at the city\'s largest health system. The health system that was on the verge of financial collapse in mid-2003 said Tuesday it earned $2.46 million on revenue of $1.75 billion in 2004. DMC CEO Mike Duggan mentions in the story that the health system is focusing on solidifying its relationship with Wayne State University's Medical School and its doctors, who provide clinical care and teaching services to the DMC. Relations between the two have been strained as the DMC struggled financially.

Report: State still losing ground in education battle

Kurt Metzger, research director for the Center for Urban Studies, says data indicates Michigan students have yet to respond significantly to the higher education message. \"If you look at our youngest adult populations - people between 25 and 35 years old - you see that even they are not (obtaining degrees) at the rates we\'d like to see,\" he argues. \"We\'re still not getting it.\" Metzger says further challenging the state is demographic data showing that many local college graduates pursue career opportunities in other states. High unemployment rates, lack of vibrant cultural and intellectual centers and minimal success in attracting new industry and jobs are at play.