To kick off Wayne State University's Earth Week activities, the Student Environmental Action Leaders organization is featuring Julia Butterfly Hill, an internationally renowned environmentalist. Hill will present "It's Your World, Take It Personally" at 5 p.m. on April 19 at Bernath Auditorium in the Undergraduate Library. Following the presentation, Hill will lead a panel-style discussion with the audience and share more about her experiences as an environmentalist.

A feature scouting report examines Jeremy Jones, a safety from Wayne State University's Warriors football team. Jones intercepted nine passes in his senior season; a season in which he led his team to the Division II national championship game. Talking about his future in the NFL he said that he was willing to do whatever it took to win. He said he would play special teams and help out in the return game if necessary. A photo and video of Jones is included.

The Wayne State University School of Medicine is pleased to announce the appointment of Tracy Muscat to the new position of associate vice president of development and alumni affairs. Muscat assumed her duties effective Monday, March 12. She has served WSU's main campus Office of University Development as associate vice president for development since March 2009. The position of associate vice president of development and alumni affairs was created to reflect the significant role the School of Medicine has in the university's overall fund-raising program.

Five Michigan law schools have been listed on the 2013 Best Law Schools ranking by U.S. News & World Report. Wayne State University Law School rose from No. 121 last year to No. 110. The University of Michigan Law School dropped to No. 10 out of 195 accredited law schools. Michigan State University College of Law rose this year to No. 82 from No. 95. The report, released today, ranks the top 145 law schools in the country and also releases an alphabetical list of 50 unranked second-tier schools. Rankings are based on median Law School Admission Test scores for admitted students, grade point averages and acceptance rates, passage of state bar exams and the employment rates for graduates.

Playbill's recap of episode 6 of the hit television series Smash, highlights a scene with Thorsten Kaye, who plays a scruffy bartender. Kaye studied at the Hilberry Theatre at Wayne State University, the nation's longest-running graduate theatre program that presents works in rotating rep.

A team of neuroscientists led by a Wayne State University School of Medicine professor has discovered stark developmental differences in brain network function in children of parents with schizophrenia when compared to those with no family history of mental illness. The study, led by Vaibhav Diwadkar, assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral neurosciences and co-director of the Division of Brain Research and Imaging Neuroscience, was published in the March 2012 issue of the American Medical Association journal Archives of General Psychiatry. The results provide significant insight into plausible origins of schizophrenia in terms of dysfunctional brain networks in adolescence, demonstrate sophisticated analyses of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data and clarify the understanding of developmental mechanisms in normal versus vulnerable brains. The resulting information can provide unique information to psychiatrists.

This story discusses Gov. Rick Snyder's performance funding proposal for the state's higher education institutions, a plan that places Wayne State University, Michigan State University, and the University of Michigan at the bottom of the appropriations allocations. That's because Snyder's funding formula distributes money - about a 3 percent increase over last year's higher education state aid - based on how well Michigan's universities have been increasing the number of graduates and other related measures. During yesterday's testimonies before the state House's Appropriation Higher Education Subcommittee, four university presidents spoke before the subcommittee in an annual exercise. The rest of Michigan's public university presidents will testify in coming weeks. The presidents criticized Snyder's plan because under his plan the universities would be competing for the same pot of money. Grand Valley State University would be the clear winner, with an increase in state aid of nearly 7 percent while Wayne State would receive only a 0.91 percent increase under the plan. They also said the plan would not help keep tuition increases down because it was one-time bonus money and not an increase in the base amount of aid they get each year. In addition to measuring the university's performance, Snyder's budget would also reward universities that kept tuition increases under 4% for next school year.

A team of neuroscientists led by a Wayne State University School of Medicine professor has discovered stark developmental differences in brain network function in children of parents with schizophrenia when compared to those with no family history of mental illness. The study, led by Vaibhav Diwadkar, assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral neurosciences and co-director of the Division of Brain Research and Imaging Neuroscience, was published in the March 2012 issue of the American Medical Association journal Archives of General Psychiatry. The results provide significant insight into plausible origins of schizophrenia in terms of dysfunctional brain networks in adolescence, demonstrate sophisticated analyses of functional magnetic resonance imaging data and clarify the understanding of developmental mechanisms in normal versus vulnerable brains. The resulting information can provide unique information to psychiatrists. "Brain network dysfunction associated with emotional processing is a potential predictor for the onset of emotional problems that may occur later in life and that are in turn associated with illnesses like schizophrenia," Diwadkar said. "If you clearly demonstrate there is something amiss in how the brain functions in children, there is something you can do about it. And that's what we're interested in."

FIRST Robotics back at Wayne State to inspire young engineers Alex Traster, a first-year biomedical engineering student at Wayne State University, credits much of his educational aspirations to his involvement in the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics program. He participated in FIRST Robotics all four years he attended Jefferson High School in Monroe. This month, he will be volunteering at the FIRST Robotics 2012 Detroit District competition on March 16-17 at Matthaei Physical Education Center. The public is welcome to attend at each FIRST Robotics event. Friday's opening ceremonies begin at 10:30 a.m. with games scheduled until 7 p.m.

This article features the entrepreneurial effort of Wayne State University student Sebastian Jackson who has established The Social Club Grooming Company, a barbershop/beauty salon located on WSU's campus on Anthony Wayne Drive. Jackson, who is senior pursuing a bachelors in public relations, worked at the barbershop that used to occupy the space. When it closed he decided to take it over, preparing to open his business this spring.

An article recaps a recent episode of "Aging Well in America" on WMTV, Grosse Pointe's cable channel, which examines the country's aging population. Cathy Lysack of Wayne State University's Institute of Gerontology was a guest on the premiere show to talk about her research on "downsizing" - the phenomenon of elderly moving from their long-time residents to smaller, different locations. The show airs the first and third week of every month, Monday-Sunday, at 5:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m. and 6 p.m.

The Wayne State University campus played host to a White House conference Friday focusing on the homelessness and housing discrimination issues that continue to plague the Lesbian, Gay, Bi and Trans-Gender (LGBT) community. The summit was held in response to the recent passing of the Equal Access to Housing Rule, which now prohibits Housing and Urban Development participants from discriminating against LGBT applicants. Many federal officials were in attendance, including a good portion of the Obama Administration. WDET's Quinn Klinefelter interviewed HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan who was a keynote speaker during the conference.

The rising number of malignant melanoma cases the past four years at Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit illustrates the need for cutting-edge research into some of the most aggressive forms of the still mostly untreatable skin cancer. Patricia LoRusso, D.O., professor of oncology at Wayne State University's School of Medicine and director of phase-one clinical trials and the institute's Eisenberg Center for Experimental Therapeutics, begins a three-year, $6 million research project as co-leader of a group of 50 cancer researchers at 12 medical centers who will study BRAF Wild-Type metastatic melanoma. "We know that there is a desperate need for treatment for those suffering from the most aggressive forms of the disease ... for which there are very few effective treatment options," said LoRusso. While only 150 patients will be studied nationwide at the 12 medical centers, including Karmanos, LoRusso said several other clinical studies on melanoma are in the works at Karmanos. "Melanoma has always been a tumor type of importance in our clinical program," LoRusso said.

Whether it was a psychotic break or underlying mental illness that led a United States Army soldier to allegedly massacre 16 Afghan civilians -- including women and children -- is still unclear. But as military investigators reportedly interrogate the 38-year-old staff sergeant they say they believe to be behind the Sunday morning killing spree, psychological experts said such actions are generally preceded by strong signals that something is wrong -- signals that, in this case, may have been missed or gone unreported. Whether any of these warning signs were present before the alleged mass killing is as yet unknown. But Dr. Bengt Arnetz, professor of occupational and environmental medicine at Wayne State University, said that even if these signals were present, the current system used by the military is woefully inadequate at detecting them. "All the systems have never been evaluated," said Arnetz, whose research focuses on the effects of stress on the psychological well-being of police, first responders and soldiers. "I think that they're very, very bad at monitoring people close to the breaking point. We don't have good surveillance tools."

The @Home Support Program for terminally ill patients is winning contracts with numerous insurers after demonstrating that it can provide cost savings, higher quality of care and reduced stress on caregivers. The groundbreaking study, conducted by the Hospice of Michigan's Maggie Allesee Center for Quality of Life in collaboration with the School of Social Work at Wayne State University, has significant implications for reducing high-cost medical services during the last 24 months of life and addresses the desire of older adults to receive care at home.

A Wayne State University researcher is working on a national initiative aimed at improving ways to measure the quality of teachers. Ben Kelcey, assistant professor of education, recently received a one-year, $25,000 grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for "Measurement Models for Understanding Teacher Quality," a project to develop statistical models that will help researchers understand the bias and precision of several instruments measuring teacher quality through classroom observation.

It was less than a week ago that you might have seen Wayne State University student Patrick Morrison on television. Morrison was a contestant on the quiz game show Jeopardy!, where he made about $80,000. His four-day run ended on Friday. Now that the game is over, Morrison is making plans on how to spend his winnings. "It's going to be a while before I get the money. Once I do, like I said on the show, my brothers and my sister and I are gonna contribute money for my parents to visit Ireland for their anniversary." The rest will probably go toward "practical stuff" like paying bills, he said.

A brief notes that the Canton Chamber of Commerce will host its March Networking Luncheon on March 14, at 11:30 a.m. at the Summit on the Park. The event features Wayne State University President Allan Gilmour as the guest speaker. Gilmour will discuss the role of higher education in economic prosperity. "We are thrilled to have President Gilmour speak at our chamber luncheon," said Dianne Cojei, president of the Canton Chamber of Commerce. A photo of Gilmour is included.

Global automotive retail consulting firm, Urban Science, announced yesterday that it has committed to building a $1 million endowment to support the Col. Gregory Gadson Scholarship at the Wayne State University College of Engineering in perpetuity. The scholarship will provide up to $50,000 annually to a wounded warrior to study engineering and earn an EDGE Engineering Entrepreneur Certificate. "The opportunity for trained engineers to become successful entrepreneurs through their own inventions is tremendous, and exactly what the Col. Greg Gadson Scholarship will support," said Farshad Fotouhi, Wayne State's dean of engineering.

Wayne State University is announcing a new scholarship named for a U.S. Army veteran who lost both legs in the Iraq war. The College of Engineering and Urban Science announces that Col. Gregory Gadson and others will release details about the endowed scholarship this morning. Gadson holds three Bronze Star awards and a Purple Heart. He was severely injured by a roadside bomb in Iraq in 2007, losing his legs and normal use of his right arm. The program will be called the Col. Gregory Gadson Scholarship for Wounded Warriors. The scholarship's first recipient will be on hand for the 10:30 a.m. announcement, as will Urban Science chief executive and Wayne State alumnus Jim Anderson, and Wayne State engineering dean Farshad Fotouhi.