Quicken boss has big-league dreams

A feature on the front page of the business section about millionaire businessman Dan Gilbert mentions that he attended the Wayne State University Law School. Gilbert, owner of Quicken Loans, is reportedly negotiating to purchase the Cleveland Cavaliers NBA team.

January 2, 2005

New WSU Web site a first of its kind for a university

The newspaper re-ran an article published in December about WSU's new Web site that is aimed at junior and high school students. The site features animated characters to entertain those who access it, thereby making it fun to obtain helpful information about Wayne State. In addition to playing the games, site visitors can enter drawings for free T-shirts that feature the game characters.

January 2, 2005

Americans' rights at work must be protected

An op-ed piece by David Bonior, identified as a professor of labor studies at Wayne State University, charges that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), a federal agency empowered with enforcing labor law, has stripped workers of legal protections during the last several months. Among examples, he cites a July ruling by the NLRB that declared graduate teaching and research assistants were students and not technically employees, therefore universities do not have to bargain with them.

January 1, 2005

Americans' rights at work must be protected

An op-ed piece by David Bonior, identified as a professor of labor studies at Wayne State University, charges that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), a federal agency empowered with enforcing labor law, has stripped workers of legal protections during the last several months. Among examples, he cites a July ruling by the NLRB that declared graduate teaching and research assistants were students and not technically employees, therefore universities do not have to bargain with them.

January 1, 2005

Wayne State's labor studies

The labor school at Wayne State University begins its winter session during the second week of January 2005. A listing of classes and contact information for students is included in the story.

December 31, 2004

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."

December 31, 2004

Grandmother earns bachelor's

A 75-year old grandmother, Dorothy Dekutoski, wasn't planning on going to graduation, but her kids insisted. She graduated from Wayne State with honors Dec. 16, with a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies. She is pictured in a photo with Stuart Henry, chair of the Interdisciplinary Studies Dept.

December 30, 2004

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. \"

December 30, 2004

Oakland Community College '05 budget

Oakland Community College officials outlined budget projections for the year 2005-06 based on a 1 percent increase in enrollment, a 3 percent increase in tuition and a slight increase in interest revenue. The operating budget is tentatively projected to increase by 5.6 percent.

December 30, 2004

High-tech training prepares surgeons

U-M's virtual reality simulators let students practice on computer-generated patients when performing surgery. The gall bladder surgery simulator is one of about a dozen high-tech tools in the U-M's new $2 million Clinical Simulation Center. The medical school launched the project earlier this year to give students doctors more practice with delicate procedures.

December 30, 2004

Livonia: WSU prof receives $400,000 award

The Wayne Briefs column notes that Alexey A. Petrov of Livonia, physics professor in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, has been awarded a $400,000 National Science Foundation Faculty Early Development Award to do research and work with Detroit area high schools to develop a program in computational science. A photo of Petrov accompanies the item.

December 29, 2004

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.

December 29, 2004

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.

December 28, 2004

Detroit clinics to test new blood substitute

Dr. Larry Diebel, medical professor at Wayne State, is mentioned in an AP story about a blood substitute designed to save the lives of emergency room patients by boosting blood pressure in patients suffering heavy blood loss. Diebel will lead the study locally at Detroit Receiving and Sinai Grace hospitals. Twenty cities will participate in the nationwide study of PolyHeme, which was developed by an Illinois company.

December 28, 2004

Basketball Roundup

Wayne State's women's basketball team was defeated in a game by Rollins, 47-68. Kristen Rogers scored 20 points for Wayne State.

December 28, 2004

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.

December 27, 2004

New Wayne State Web site entertaining, educational

Wayne State University has launched a new Web site that offers six retro-arcade style games designed to entertain prospective students and provide information about the university.

December 27, 2004

.

In a public service announcement, Joe Donovan mentioned the Digital Detroit Collection of historic Detroit News photos at WSU's Walter P. Reuther Library. He pointed out that they are accessible via the Internet through the library's Web site.

December 27, 2004

'Sometimes we learn'

Memorials of the death of Rachel Inez Coleman, a Wayne State graduate and social worker, were recently established to honor her name. The Rachel I. Coleman Scholarship Fund at WSU's School of Social Work and the Bon Secours Cottage Hospice are reminders of Coleman, her work to help others and her struggle with brain cancer. The article features a photo of Coleman with the WSU School of Social Work logo.

December 27, 2004

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.

December 26, 2004