Stephen Henderson spoke with Marc Kruman, director of the Center for the Study of Citizenship and history professor at Wayne State University, about the state of America today. The conversation focused on opportunity, political participation and American ideals. Regarding the role of race, Kruman said that the founding fathers would likely be surprised at the degree of racial equality in the U.S. today and that they never got far enough to conceptualize it. He added that the black vote in the south since 1965 has changed the region and that black elected officials were unthinkable before.

A photo of Michelle Obama speaking at a White House youth leadership and mentoring event at Wayne State University last year is included with this story about a poetry and writing program scheduled at the White House.

Monica White, associate professor in the sociology department at Wayne State University, comments about higher education programs established to assist faculty in their pursuit of tenure and success.

Several Detroit natives were nominated for NAACP Image Awards this year but only actress S. Epatha Merkerson walked away a winner Friday night. Merkerson, who graduated from the city\'s Cooley High School and Wayne State University, won an Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role on NBC\'s \"Law & Order.\" The show came to an end after 20 seasons last year.

The New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants awarded a Max Block Distinguished Article Award to Alan Reinstein, George R. Husband Professor of Accounting at Wayne State University\'s School of Business Administration. Reinstein and his co-author Avinash Arya received the award in recognition of their innovative and thought-provoking technical analysis article, "Recent Developments in Fair Value Accounting," published in The CPA Journal.

Legislation has been introduced in the State House that would give a five year tax credit of 50 percent for students with a student loan. The state would forgive that portion if the student agrees to stay in Michigan for 5 years. Also, key lawmakers are promising not to cut the budget for higher education. State Rep. Sam Singh, D-East Lansing, says: "We have seen the pain created by the extreme cuts that Governor Snyder made in 2011 and now it's time for us to protect those higher education institutions as we have to make cuts throughout the budget.

The Detroit Public Library's Burton Historical Collection, one of the state\'s largest repositories for manuscripts, has a new digital index thanks in part to several students from Wayne State's archival program. The project brought federal, state and private groups together to digitize every one of the Collection\'s holdings. The index is now available for perusal online.

Nancy T. Artinian, associate dean for research and director of the Center for Health Research at Wayne State University's College of Nursing, discusses the long term benefits of lifestyle changes for the prevention of cardiovascular disease. http://mms.tveyes.com/Transcript.asp?StationID=2785&DateTime=7%2F12%2F2010+3%3A14%3A07+PM&Term=wayne+state&PlayClip=TRUE http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/news/20100712/personalized-strategy-is-best-for-heart-health http://www.sunherald.com/2010/07/12/2325292/american-heart-association-scientific.html

Medical students at Wayne State University are working with a Grand Rapids-based group that provides aid in Haiti. Although a scheduled trip to Haiti next month for the school's World Health Student Organization has been put on hold, the students are focused on helping the earthquake-ravaged country by raising money for relief efforts. Two of the students are interviewed.

Peter Henning of the Law School faculty comments in a story about the SEC\'s curtailment of so-called "tolling agreements." Under such agreements, the SEC and respondents both agree to suspend the statute of limitations while they try to resolve a civil or administrative action. Henning notes that use of the agreement had increased in recent years, partly due to bureaucratic delays of the agency.

Tonia Reinhard, a registered dietitian and director of the Coordinated Program in Dietetics at Wayne State University, offers some tips to up your midday meal game. Sandwiches: Look for healthy bread that has 4 grams of fiber or more, add a lean source of protein, like chicken breast lunch meat, and then leafy greens, like spinach or kale. Be conscious of what you are spreading on your sandwich; mayonnaise is packed with calories and fat, while mustard is very low in calories and fat. Smoothies: Smoothies can fit into a fast-paced lifestyle, where there is limited time to eat or prepare a lunch. Blending a smoothie is also a great way to incorporate healthy foods into your diet that you may not typically eat raw by themselves.

A new study to be published in the Journal of Business Ethics finds that ethical concerns among future business leaders are at a 30-year high, but that the nature of their concerns has shifted considerably. Wayne State University Professor Richard Beltramini, School of Business Administration, co-author of the report, joins Craig Fahle to discuss his findings.

Law professor Peter Henning comments in an article about an alleged Ponzi scheme for which officers of Stanford Financial Group in Houston are on trial. Henning is an expert in cases involving white-collar crime.

"Wayne State University students, not surprisingly, will be paying more for classes this fall," writes Robin Erb in this afternoon's online edition of the Free Press. Depending on which of two possible proposals is adopted by the full board this afternoon, tuition and fees would climb to $8,498 or $8,587. Some details of this morning's Budget and Finance Committee discussions are given.

Timothy Butler, associate professor of Global Supply Chain Management, discusses the Southeast Michigan Purchasing Managers Index on WDET's Craig Fahle Show. The index, which is compiled and analyzed by Wayne State University\'s School of Business Administration, surveys purchasing managers from 350 local companies and gauges local economic activity. The PMI clip begins at 52:24.

Students from the Blackstone LaunchPad, Wayne State University\'s student entrepreneur program, and other colleges around the Metro Detroit area will showcase their business models at Wayne State\'s Get Launched! Event Nov. 15. Get Launched! allows today\'s students to showcase tomorrow\'s next great business model. Their business ideas range from mobile apps and social media technology to retail and automotive engineering, and everything in between.

Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, speaking at a symposium on judicial election and selection at Wayne State University earlier this week, urged Michigan to change the way it chooses judges from an electoral system to one of merit-based selection as is done at the federal level. Michigan is one of 39 states that has elected judges rather than judges selected by legislatures and then given life tenure to insulate them from political influence. http://michiganmessenger.com/34629/oconnor-change-judicial-elections-in-michigan http://new.whtc.com/news/articles/2010/feb/10/justice-oconnor-calls-new-system-judge-selection/ http://www.record-eagle.com/statenews/local_story_041071029.html http://www.freep.com/article/20100209/NEWS02/100209027/1004/News02/Justice-OConnor-speaks-at-Wayne-State-event http://detnews.com/article/20100210/POLITICS02/2100361/Ex--Supreme-Court-Justice-O-Connor--Change-way-Mich--elects-judges http://www.metrotimes.com/blog/newsblawg.asp?perm=975

Crime, poor schools and a lack of employment are common themes Detroiters point to as reasons why more than 200,000 people have left the city in the past 10 years. Brian Raveau, 23, said he worries about his fiancée walking home at night from Wayne State University. "I've had a pleasant experience," he said about living near WSU where he also attends school. He said Detroit needs to create a better image to get people to want to move to the city. He said getting rid of abandoned buildings will help.

Law professor Peter Henning comments on unusual, heightened interest in GM stock. The company is privately held following the bankruptcy filing of its predecessor corporation. From almost record lows, the stock gained 37 percent in one day Friday. "This certainly has all the hallmarks of market manipulation, but it's very hard for the S.E.C. to prove," Henning said.