In the news

Royal wedding II: Why we love it

Alicia Nails, director of the Journalism Institute for Minorities at Wayne State, was quoted on the confirmed engagement and future wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles. Nails supports the marriage with reservations even though she believes Camilla deserves some credit for not fitting the typical young, glamorous princess mold. She says, \"I just can\'t stand Camilla. I do respect that she\'s not trying to be something she\'s not.\"

Mark Stryker's Classical Highlights: A love affair with the harp

Composer James Hartway, a distinguished professor of music at WSU, has written about 10 works for the harp, including several solo works and a gaggle of chamber pieces of various shapes and sizes. He\'s recently composed a concerto for not one but two harps. The piece, \"Island Dances,\" will be given its world premiere Sunday by the Arianna Harp Duo and the Warren Symphony Orchestra, conducted by David Daniels. Hartway is known for writing vibrant and eclectic music that pulsates with vernacular source material and rhythms.

In June, Detroit to shut down 34 schools

More than 10,000 students will be uprooted when 34 Detroit public schools shut their doors this June. In the next five years, the Detroit Public Schools must cut more than $560 million in expenses. In the next three years, the district predicts enrollment will drop by about 40,000 students from 140,000 and another 60 to 75 schools will have to close. Kurt Metzger, a research director at WSU\'s Center for Urban Studies, said the city and the district need to work together to stop the population and school enrollment decline. \"They should be tracking what neighborhoods have really been hit and where people are leaving,\" he said.

Colleges facing another reduction: Gov. Granholm proposes midyear cut of $30 million

Universities and colleges that have experienced tens of millions of dollars in state funding reductions may face more losses this year. A proposed spending plan announced Thursday included a midyear cut of $30 million in funding for the state\'s 15 public universities and 28 community colleges. A recent plan to offset the $30 million cut is to issue bonds. Harvey Hollins, WSU vice president for government and community affairs, said schools are not better off if the bond money is reserved. \"If we cannot use bonds for general operations, taking a cut this time in the fiscal cycle is very painful,\" he said.

Michigan's 2004 rankings performance: Researchers, Companies continue to engineer growth

WSU offers an engineering program with ties to auto companies that dominate the southeastern region of Detroit. In a partnership with Troy-based Delphi Corp., Wayne State unveiled a new, 4,000-square-foot clean room in 2003 for MEMS R&D. The clean room is part of Wayne State's Smart Sensors Lab, which is developing technologies for medical applications as well as automotive. Industry-linked projects like some under way at U-M, Wayne State and the state's university spinouts are likely to lead to patents and coordinated development of products.

Granholm wants limit on tuition increases

This Sault Ste. Marie newspaper ran an AP story about Gov. Granholm's spending proposal for Michigan's 15 public universities. The governor has proposed the sale of $100 million in state bonds to cover maintenance and new construction at universities in the current and upcoming fiscal years. The additional money would offset a $30 million cut in higher education called for in the governor's executive order to help resolve a state budget shortfall. Representatives of Wayne State University and Central Michigan University note that universities have eliminated maintenance projects not immediately necessary in the past three years. "Unless we can use those bond funds for general operations, this is going to hurt us in a major way," said Harvey Hollins, vice president for government affairs at WSU.

Granholm wants limit on tuition increases

Harvey Hollins, vice president of government affairs, is quoted in a story about the governor's call to limit tuition increases in the upcoming school year. Gov. Granholm initiated a $30 million cut to higher education and proposes selling $100 million in state bonds for maintenance projects and new construction at the state's universities and community colleges. "Unless we can use those bond funds for general operations, this is going to hurt us in a major way," Hollins said.

Humbled Nowinski receives honor

Dave Nowinski, a 1984 graduate of Wayne State, was inducted into the university's Athletic Hall of Fame in recognition of his six-time All-American performances on the swimming team. Nowinski left Wayne State with school records in the 500 free, 1000 free and 1650 free. The records stood for 20 years. Nowinski was also the first Wayne State swimmer to break the 10-minute mark in the 1000 free. Current Wayne State swimming coach Sean Peters is mentioned as one of the attendees of the induction ceremony.

Bonds deserve serious debate, not partisan sniping

This editorial about $2 billion bond proposal made by Gov. Jennifer Granholm to create jobs in Michigan mentioned Wayne State\'s efforts in life science research through TechTown. ...Some of the Republicans gibing at Granholm have themselves pushed for more support of life sciences and technology research, which encompasses major projects from the Next Energy program at Wayne State University to the Van Andel Research Institute in Grand Rapids.

SUPER BOWL XL: Majority surveyed have no impression of Detroit

A recent survey shows that there are a lot of people across the country who don\'t know much about Detroit. As next year's Super Bowl host, Detroit is hoping to improve its image and change people's misconceptions about the city. Kurt Metzger, research director at Wayne State University\'s Center for Urban Studies, was quoted on the subject. Metzger was asked if one week of national attention can repair the city\'s reputation? He answered, \"No, what it is going to do is it really needs to motivate or energize this region to start thinking of itself in a positive light.\"

Detroit announces 40 school closures

Detroit Public Schools officials are expected to announce today the names of up to 40 of the district\'s 252 schools that will be shut down by June, a number experts believe is the most by a district in a single year nationwide. Kurt Metzger, research director of the Center for Urban Studies at WSU said that if district officials would have responded to the loss of students with closures earlier, they would have more time to come up with a strategy of the best schools to close. Detroit administrators haven\'t had time to strategize. Just a week before they plan to announce the closures, they were putting together the deficit reduction plan.