By Linda Solomon  For a third winter, many are staying home to stay safe, and Americans are quitting work in record numbers. The pandemic has prompted large numbers of people – particularly those with years of work already behind them – to reassess not just their careers but also their lives. This feature story examines the experiences of 4 metro Detroiters who found the courage to ask: If not now, when? Included in the story is Duffy Flynn Wineman of Bloomfield Hills, who is at 68 taking five courses this semester at Wayne State University and intends to graduate one week before her 70th birthday. A mother of three sons and eight grandchildren, Wineman has spent decades acting in community theater and Wayne State has given her the opportunity to achieve her dream of earning a theatre degree. “My Wayne State academic adviser is so incredible. They were so inviting. They were so supportive. They encouraged me to get my degree and said, ‘you need to do this!’ And they walked me through everything. They showed me how to do my application and how to obtain my college transcripts from almost 50 years ago…” Wineman said. 

By Stephi Wild  The Maggie Allesee Department of Theatre and Dance, College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts at Wayne State University, is proud to present “Fairview,” the 2019 winner of the Pulitzer Prize for drama by Jackie Sibblies Drury. The production is directed by Billicia Charnelle Hines, associate professor of theatre and assistant chair/artistic director of the Black Theatre and Dance Collective, and performs live on-stage from February 25 through March 5.   

By Michelle R. Smith  Anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made “deeply offensive” comments when he suggested things are worse for people today than they were for Anne Frank, the teenager who died in a Nazi concentration camp after hiding with her family in a secret annex in an Amsterdam house for two years, several Jewish advocacy and Holocaust remembrance groups said. Kennedy has invoked the specter of Nazis and the Holocaust in his work to sow doubts about vaccines and agitate against public health efforts to bring the pandemic under control, such as requiring masks or vaccine mandates. Although Kennedy has previously apologized for his use of such tactics, Dr. David Gorski, a cancer surgeon at Wayne State University School of Medicine and a critic of the anti-vaccine movement who has tracked Kennedy’s rhetoric for over 15 years, says his continued use of such comparisons indicates “he means it.” Gorski said the language demonstrates one of the ways Kennedy likes to connect with his audience: buttering them up by portraying them as going against the flow and smarter than everyone else. “If vaccine mandates are totalitarian like Nazis and the Soviet Union and that sort of thing, what does that make the anti-vaxxers? They’re brave freedom fighters,” Gorski said. “There’s flattery in those analogies.”  

By Nancy Schimelpfening  Many people are tired and worn down from having to be constantly vigilant about the coronavirus, and there is a growing sentiment that COVID-19 is inevitable. Some are seeking to expose themselves to help “get it over with,” despite experts cautioning against it. Intentionally exposing yourself to the coronavirus with the hopes of developing COVID-19 can come with severe complications, including death. Doing so puts yourself and others at risk, and puts more of a burden on the healthcare system. Additionally, you may get sicker than you anticipate, as was the case with Czech singer Hana Horka, intentionally exposed herself to the virus and recently died. “While it can be argued that singer Hana Horka likely had fatal COVID complications because she was not vaccinated, the fact remains that COVID is not trivial,” said Joseph A. Roche, associate professor in the physical therapy program at Wayne State University. “Even though vaccination is proven to be a bulwark against complications and deaths, unfortunately, there are still rare breakthrough cases where the acute and chronic symptoms of COVID are worrisome.”  

Nearly 70% of college students say they are experiencing emotional distress or anxiety related to the pandemic. That’s according to a January 2022 survey that also found nearly 9 out of every 10 college students believe U.S. colleges and universities are facing a mental health crisis. The Conversation outlines tips for college students to take better care of their mental health. Christine Kivlen, assistant professor of occupational therapy at Wayne State University, recommends students seek out therapy dogs, citing research that has shown spending just 10 minutes with a therapy dog can reduce college students’ stress levels. “Among other benefits, therapy dogs can help students achieve a stronger sense of belonging and better deal with being homesick and lonely, while also lessening their anxiety and stress,” Kivlen said.  

By Kirsten Carlson  Kirsten Carlson, associate professor of law and adjunct associate professor of political science at Wayne State University, wrote an article outlining key takeaways from the Supreme Court’s recent ruling that cleared the way for presidential records dating from his time in office to be turned over to a House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack. Carlson says the ruling has immediate – and potentially longer-term – consequences around the limits of executive power, unanswered questions over former presidents’ executive privilege, and the broader importance of congressional oversight.  

By Rose White  At some grocery stores, bare shelves are continuing into 2022. It brings back memories of the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic when toilet paper shelves were picked clean and hand sanitizer was hard to find. Retailers are caught in a web of issues, including supply chain disruptions, labor shortages and high COVID-19 cases. From cereal to soup to December’s cream cheese demand, fully stocked shelves can be hit or miss at stores. John Taylor, professor of global supply chain management at Wayne State University, says both supply and changing consumer demand are snarling supply chains. “The demand signal is not clear,” he said. “There’s inadequate communication and information flowing through the supply chain to really understand what the actual demand is.” 

With over 50% of Michigan’s population being female and most working outside the home, a panel of experts, including Carey Oven, Leslie Murphy, Carla Bailo, and Terry Barclay, appear on this segment hosted by Carol Cain discussing how women are faring in corporate America. Barclay, president and CEO of Inforum Michigan, shared details of their upcoming 2022 Michigan Women’s Leadership Report which was compiled with the Mike Ilitch School of Business at Wayne State University. The report examines 82 publicly held companies in Michigan and found a mixed bag of how women are faring in leadership roles.  

By Lily Bohlke  More than 2.5 million Americans stutter at some point in their lives, and a Michigan researcher is among those learning more about the genetics of stuttering. There is no known cure for it, but experts say newly identified genes associated with stuttering can help them find out if there are links to other conditions or possible treatments. Shelly Jo Kraft, who directs the Behavior, Speech and Genetics lab at Wayne State University, said the new genes are helping researchers learn more about the factors that contribute to stuttering, or protect people from risk. “We’ve known stuttering is inherited for a long time,” she said. “But there’s been a lot of community misinformation about stuttering, a lot of stigma, a lot of misconception about why someone stutters.” Having more information about how the genes operate that lead people to stutter can help push back against those misconceptions – to show that stuttering isn’t a personality trait, or caused by a traumatic event. 

By Bella DePaulo  The number and proportion of people living single has been on the rise for decades, both in the U.S. and around the world. In the U.S., the proportion of Black women who are not married is higher than for Latinx, White or Asian American women. Wayne State University assistant professor of communication Jessica D. Moorman’s research explores Black women’s agency in their single status, noting that while external forces are a factor, sometimes Black women choose to be “strategically single” and lead purposeful lives pursuing their own goals.  

Kevin Ketels, assistant professor of teaching in global supply chain management at Wayne State University, delves into the reasons behind ongoing shortages. Ketels suggests there are four reasons for the issue: consumer demand is up, there are fewer workers, there is a shortage of shipping containers, and ports in the U.S. and around the world are clogged. “Before COVID-19, global supply chains worked pretty efficiently to move products around the world,” Ketels said. “There a couple ways we’ll see relief – a shift of consumer spending from goods to services and increased global vaccination rates. I don’t expect either to happen until well into 2022.”  

By Ken Haddad  As we commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the U.S., it’s important to remember the issues Dr. King fought to resolve, and how problems continue to persist today. In a special video presentation from New Detroit, titled ‘Conversations on Race,’ a group of local voices discuss the way forward on race relations, and share some of their experiences with racism. Truman Hudson, Jr., lecturer and outreach and marketing specialist in the division of teacher education at Wayne State University’s College of Education, is a featured speaker. Hudson says it’s important to talk about race, and structural and institutionalized racism. “…I’m always fighting for positionality that I work with and work for. Not just Black men, but Black women, brown men and brown women, red men and red women. It’s like there’s these racially perceptions of what we can’t do, and when we show up and show out, that can’t be,” he said. “We’re the anomaly – no, there are more of us. You’re just not opening up the doors for us to participate in the conversation. And when you do open up the doors, you want us to speak a certain way, look a certain way, and have a certain tonality when we deliver our presentations. And, don’t let me come across too forceful…so I have to temper my delivery, because if I don’t temper my delivery or firm up my look, there’s a perception that I’m coming across too aggressive…So, I’m always on guard…” 

By Jenn Schanz   If you’ve bought gas or walked into a grocery store in the last several months, you already know that inflation is impacting our daily lives. The latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows consumer prices jumped 7% in December, a near-40-year high. It was up 6.8% for November, and all of this is happening while annual pay increases range from 3-5%. Inflation may move the dial for raises in 2022, but how much will likely depend on your role and your specific company. “The inflation that we’re experiencing right now is a residual effect of the decision that the central banks around the world made last year to flood our economy with money,” said Matthew Roling, an adjunct finance professor at the Wayne state University Mike Ilitch School of Business. Roling said that the move has helped avoid a deep depression from the pandemic, although the increasing costs haves brought employer raises into question. “Employees have a lot more bargaining power with their employers right now than I think we’ve seen in years.”   

Wayne State University will host its annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. tribute Friday, Jan. 14, with this year’s keynote address being presented by WSU alumnus Christopher Wilson, director of experience design at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. The event will be livestreamed online at wayne.edu/live. “As has been our tradition, Wayne State University once again proudly celebrates the struggles, the sacrifices and the triumphs that mark the vibrant legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” said President M. Roy Wilson. “This year’s theme, ‘Looking Back to Look Ahead,’ will reflect on Dr. King’s teachings and how we live them today and into the future. As in previous years, the university will also present its Arthur L. Johnson Community Leadership Awards. Additionally, the event will feature musical performances, and alumna and Detroit City Council President Brenda Jones will receive the first Wayne State University Warrior Strong Distinguished Service Award for her 16 years of public service.  

Looking to beef up your vocabulary? Wayne State University’s Word Warriors has published its 13th annual list of useful but not commonly-used words that deserve to be revisited and revived. Chris Williams, assistant director of editorial services for Wayne State University’s Office of Marketing and Communications and head of the Word Warriors program, curates the list, which is the antithesis of Lake Superior State University’s “banished” words list. “We lose forms of speech that add a lot to our writing and to our speaking,” Williams said. “Our goal is to see if we can bring some of these words back.” Anyone can submit a word for consideration, and the Word Warriors are already accepting nominations for next year’s list. 

The twists and turns of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Fairview” will take center stage Feb. 25 through March 5 at Wayne State University’s Hilberry Theater. The play, written by Jackie Sibblies Drury, won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and examines family dynamics and the insidious impact of racism. Directed by Billicia Charnelle Hines, associate professor of theatre and assistant chair/artistic director of the Black Theatre and Dance Collective at Wayne State University, the play begins with the planning for a “perfect” birthday party, which is challenged by family drama. The play brings the United States’ long-standing racial tensions to the forefront by overlapping different viewpoints of reality on the stage. It will leave audiences with questions and conversation-starters, and confront privilege and power as well as frustration and rage, as the play travels from familiar stereotype to chaos and discord. Tickets are not available; Covid-19 protocols require proof of vaccination, completion of a health screener, and a mask.  

There’s plenty of talk about what words we use too much, but what about the words that have fallen out of usage and haven’t been used in a few decades – or centuries? The Wayne State University Word Warriors have compiled a list for 2022 of the top 10 words that have fallen out of usage and that make the English language a little bit more eclectic. Chris Williams, assistant director of editorial services for Wayne State’s Office of Marketing and Communications and head of the Word Warriors program, said it’s more fun and productive to think of the words that have fallen out of usage that would be great to bring back into our writing and speaking, instead of thinking about what words to get rid of. Word Warriors is in its 13th year of accepting words and selecting 10 to be released. “Each year, I’m surprised by the variety of the submissions we receive from around the world,” Williams said. “Our Word Warriors once again provided a batch of words to make our language richer. The English language is so versatile and unique, and we’ve ended up with another list of 10 great words.”   

By Lily Bohlke  A new grant will increase the capacity for infectious-disease sequencing and research in Michigan to improve the state’s ability to respond to health crises. Four universities, including Wayne State, are receiving a total of $18.5 million for the work. Dr. Teena Chopra, co-director of Wayne State University’s Detroit-based Center for Emerging and Infectious Diseases, said the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of upping the ante on researching and preparing for this and future pandemics. “The work under the grant involves looking at emerging infections, not only SARS CoV 2 which causes COVID, but also other multi-drug-resistant organisms that have plagued the city of Detroit for years and now are even worse after the pandemic,” Chopra said. Dr. Marcus Zervos, who also co-directs WSU’s Center, said the collaboration between the universities is important. He emphasized efforts to understand the spread and reach of viruses such as COVID require national and international cooperation. “We weren’t able to rapidly respond to a pandemic because we didn’t have mechanisms for testing and contact tracing and outbreak investigation and control,” Zervos said. “If it’s COVID, or if it’s a new strain of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, it’s critical to have the public health infrastructure in place.” 

There was big news from NASA recently with the Christmas Day launch of the new James Webb Space Telescope, which that could reveal some of the most fundamental information about the origins of our universe. Astrophysicist Edward Cackett, who is an associate professor of astronomy and chair of the planetarium advisory board at Wayne State University, says the new telescope will give us a glimpse of some of the universe’s earliest galaxies, as well as give us hints about where extraterrestrial life might be abundant on other planets. “We’ll actually be able to see the signature, for instance, of water vapor around planets around other stars and potentially see the signatures of life on distant planets,” Cackett said.  

By Ayesha Rascoe  Mortician Stephen R. Kemp, who is an alum of the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and a leader in the Detroit funeral industry, speaks with NPR host Ayesha Rascoe about how the pandemic is affecting the role of funeral homes in Black communities. COVID-19’s death toll in the United States is over 837,000, and it keeps climbing, resulting in a lot of business for funeral homes over the last two years. Funeral homes aren’t necessarily making more money because many Americans went without costly burials, opting for less expensive cremations, which translates to a change in death rituals, especially in Black communities. “…I do see cremation growth because financially, it makes a whole lot of sense. We really – because of the pandemic, we really weren’t prepared with insurances and with the proper amount of money to do that. And cemeteries have increased their prices really, really disproportionately to the inflation rate…you’re beginning to see a lot more funerals here at the funeral home versus traditional places like a church…we have them in parks and tents, in people’s homes, in the backyards. And what traditionally has been the funeral has evolved into a celebration of life. I tell people, get pictures together. Put them on a flash drive. Play the person’s favorite music…”