In the news

Scholarship honors judge's wife

The Eileen M. Maceroni Endowed Scholarship Fund has been established at Wayne State University by her family. The fund will provide scholarships for students going into social work. Dean of the School of Social Work, Phyllis Vroom, said the university is "very grateful that the Maceroni family has endowed this scholarship. It is particularly appropriate that it honors the history of a woman who balanced family and academics, as do many of our students."

Genocide in Africa stirs an outpouring of Jewish aid

Professor Fred Pearson, director of the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies in CULMA, commented about the spread of genocide in Sudan's Darfur region. The U.N. and African initiatives to save the Sudanese people have been hampered by the lack of sustained pressure on the Sudanese government, Pearson said. "Neither Egypt nor the United States wants to destabilize the Sudanese government [which is considered behind the mass murder]," Pearson said. \"Yes , it\'s bad to have a glaring genocidal situation there; but, because of the oil-rich areas in Sudan that both Egypt and the United States are interested in, our government is not as forceful as it should be to stop the killings. \"

Minimal waste at universities

In a letter to the editor, Michael Boulus, executive director of the Presidents Council, State Universities of Michigan, takes issue with a Jan. 26 Free Press article reporting on alleged waste and inefficiency at Michigan's public universities. The article was based on a report from the state auditor general's office. Boulus points out that the article "ignored the fact that the final analysis by the audit reports for each university ended with the same overarching finding: 'We concluded that the university was generally effective and efficient in its use of resources allocated to support academic and related programs.'" In the letter, Boulus adds, "To pick a handful of relatively small findings in terms of overall dollars and efficiencies and expand them into a general condemnation of university use of tax and tuition dollars is sensationalism." He calls for more investment in the state's public universities.

Parental Guidance Suggested

A Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute study investigates parents' roles in children's cancer treatments. "We are learning that the greater the physical stress, the kids remember the negative and act out as they grow into adolescence, rebelling against follow-up treatment and medical experiences in general, " said Terrance Albrecht, director of the communication and behavioral oncology program at Karmanos and professor of family medicine at Wayne State.

Wayne State Latino program sparks concern

The handling of a program to recruit and retain students at Wayne State has sparked tensions between the school and the Latino community, according to this article from the Associated Press. Some in the Latino community fear this could undercut efforts to boost enrollment. WSU officials deny the program is in jeopardy and point out that the university has worked hard to boost Latino enrollment, holding outreach drives and seminars. A Web site is given for the Center for Chicano-Boricua Studies in CULMA.

U-M spent $460,000 on lobbying efforts

Harvey Hollins, vice president for government affairs, commented about the lobbying efforts of Michigan's universities. "In an ideal world, it would seem that all of the (Michigan) universities would get together and do one big thing," Hollins said. "But the way federal funding really runs on university campuses, it's not a cookie-cutter approach." Wayne State is mentioned as opening lobbying offices in the same building as the University of Michigan and Michigan State University and spending $240,000 last year to lobby the federal government.