Wayne State University has always been a cornerstone of Detroit’s giving spirit, and since appointing Dr. M. Roy Wilson as president in 2013, the university has revved up its efforts to rehabilitate the urban community that surrounds it. Wilson brings years of experience in both university and health care administration. In 2016, President Wilson introduced Wayne Med-Direct, a program that guarantees tuition-free, direct admission to Wayne State School of Medicine to 10 talented high school students from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds across the city.  

Donors, fundraising professionals, and volunteers will shine at the 2018 Philanthropy Day Awards. Hosted by the Association of Fundraising Professionals Greater Detroit Chapter, the awards recognize the works of local philanthropists. Among the Wayne State University recipients are: Allan Gilmour, former Wayne State University president and former CFO of Ford Motor Co., George W. Romney Award for Lifetime Achievement in Volunteerism; Tracy Utech, associate vice president for principal gifts, Dr. John S. Lore Award for Outstanding Fundraising Executive; and Detroit Feedback Loop, founded in 2017 by Wayne State University students Nicholas Ang and Camilla Cascardo, Sparky Anderson Award for Youth in Philanthropy.

A  documentary released earlier this fall challenges the concept of intelligence – and how it’s determined – as it follows three intellectually disabled young adults navigating school, work and life. One of those young adults is a Micah Fialka-Feldman, who went to Berkley High School and is from Huntington Woods. “Intelligent Lives,” directed by award-winning documentarian Dan Habib who has a teenage son with an intellectual disability, will be screened Thursday at Wayne State University’s Community Arts Auditorium.

The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) has named five universities as finalists for its 2018 Degree Completion Award. Wayne State University, the University of Nevada-Reno, the University of Rhode Island, the University of Memphis and Arizona State University were selected by a panel of eight reviewers, according to APLU officials.

Asked to describe Detroit in one word Tuesday, the president of Wayne State University said, “Gritty.” A second later he added, “in a good way,” drawing laughter from the audience at Cobo Center for a Detroit Economic Club luncheon. That same grit applies to the university's students, who deserve to be heard, said M. Roy Wilson, who discussed a wide range of topics as WSU celebrates its 150th anniversary this year. “I think we need to do a better job of responding to what students want, and what businesses want, as opposed to saying we know best and sticking to what you’re used to doing,” he told The Detroit News.

Wayne State’s School of Medicine Monday announced it surpassed its $190-million goal in the university’s Pivotal Moments Campaign, which concluded Sept. 30. The campus-wide campaign was launched in 2014 to raise $750 million. It was the most ambitious comprehensive fundraising effort in WSU’s history.

William Shakespeare's “As You Like It” treads the boards at the Hilberry Theatre beginning Friday, Oct.26 and running through Nov. 11. Directed by Lavinia Hart and set in present day Appalachia, this comedy allows audiences to view a classic story through a creative lens that transports you to the hills of Tennessee. "Shakespeare's 'As You Like It' is universal in theme and characters, easily translating to any century in any city or countryside, revealing surprising cultural connections to the here and now," says Hart.

Think your job’s done when your child gets accepted to college? Think again. College plans can get the kibosh between acceptance and attendance. It’s called “summer melt,” and it thwarts some students’ post-secondary plans. It can happen for a variety of reasons, too. Sometimes focus shifts. Other times things can crop up that complicate matters. Wayne State offers a chance to participate, free of charge, in a program called APEX Scholars, short for Academic Pathways to Excellence. 

Detroit's vision of trading in its moniker of the Motor City for the Mobility City is buoyed by several coordinated events through this week. The four-day CSforAll Summit, a national computer science education symposium, kicks off Monday at Wayne State University.

Professor Peter J. Hammer, director of the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights at Wayne State University Law School, has been named the Law School’s inaugural A. Alfred Taubman Endowed Chair. Hammer, who joined the Law School faculty in 2003, is a leading voice on economic and social issues impacting Detroit and the nation. He has spent more than 25 years engaging in matters of human rights law and development in Cambodia. Hammer is an expert on domestic health law and policy, as well as international public health and economic development. The $1.5 million endowed chair is part of a $3 million gift from the late A. Alfred Taubman in 2006 that led to the construction of the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights building at Wayne Law.

President M. Roy Wilson joined WJR host Paul W. Smith for a discussion about various topics and updates at Wayne State. President Wilson also will be speaking at the Detroit Economic Club Oct. 9 on the occasion of the university’s sesquicentennial. His topic is: Reintroducing Wayne State University: Transformation after 150 Years in the Heart of Detroit.

The hot housing market in Midtown is squeezing out Wayne State University students who want to live near campus. Officials at WSU say an increasing number of students want housing in the area but are finding it difficult to afford rents targeted to working professionals. “A lot of the apartments, particularly to the south of us and east of us, serve primarily students, and their rents are going up so high because of the desirability of living in Midtown,” WSU President M. Roy Wilson told The Detroit News.

Sarna Sutradhar, a 15-year-old Cass Technical High School student, has a dream to practice medicine some day. But seeing the long road from high school sophomore to doctor is not easy. Fortunately, a program she participated in last summer, the Community Health Career Pipeline (CHP), supported her goal to become a doctor by exposing her to the Detroit food system and the steps she needs to take to prepare for college. Through CHP, she participated in learning workshops and a work-study apprenticeship at the Wayne State University Farmers' Market, which provided her the opportunity to practice nutrition education, public speaking, and promotions. "Our goal is to provide a five-pillar streamlined and connected career development and community health program to support Detroit high school youth to enter college, obtain well-paying jobs, and change the health, economic, and social trajectories of their communities," says Noel Kulik, project director of CHP, a research fellow in the Center for Health and Community Impact, and faculty in the Division of Kinesiology, Health and Sport Studies Division within the Wayne State University College of Education.  

A new internship partnership is currently underway with MBA students from the Sport and Entertainment Management program at the Mike Ilitch School of Business. Students are participating in and learning from a wide range of real-world experiences with the Tigers and Red Wings. "This rare opportunity gives Wayne State students unmatched access to one of the densest sports and entertainment districts in the U.S., along with professionals at world-class companies," said Scott Tainsky, associate professor of management and director of sport and entertainment management. "By the end of the program, students would have worked on high-profile projects and gained competitive experience in their chosen field. We are excited about bringing on even more students in Fall 2019."

Wayne State University’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) is offering a new service to Muslim women on college campuses. The new group, which will meet weekly, aims to provide a place for women to identify and discuss the issues and struggles of being a Muslim woman on a college campus. Kaifa Alsoofy, a university counselor at Wayne State who came up with the idea for the group, said in her work as a counselor, she’s seen Muslim women face issues like identity struggles and family, cultural or religious expectations.

Wayne State University is breaking ground on a major project for theater, music and dance. Campus officials and others will gather Thursday night to mark construction of the $65 million Gateway Performance Complex and the future home of the Gretchen Valade Jazz Center. The Performance Complex will have three theaters, production space for students and a cafe for guests who attend performances. Wayne State's Hilberry Theatre will be renovated to become a 200-seat jazz center named for Valade, a Detroit-area philanthropist and granddaughter of the founder of Carhartt Clothing. Valade has committed more than $9 million to Wayne State's jazz program. She founded Mack Avenue Records and owns the Dirty Dog Jazz Cafe in Grosse Pointe Farms.

Mildred Gaddis sits down with Darrell Dawsey, Director of Community Communications for Wayne State University, Kenya Swanson, Coordinator of the Warrior Vision & Impact Program and Michelle Hunt Bruner, Director of the Academic Success Center at Wayne State. The four discuss the Warrior Vision & Impact Program, which is designed to help first-year students through a series of early support workshops that address some of the typical challenges students face during their transition to college.

If Andy Appleby shared one tip with aspiring entrepreneurs this would be it said the CEO and commissioner of the United Shore Professional Baseball League, who was recently named this year's winner of the Wayne State University Mike Ilitch School of Business Michigan Executive of the Year Award. "Be willing to take a risk and be willing to support that risk with unending work ethics," added Appleby, who will be honored at the school's 38th Annual Recognition and Awards Program at the Detroit Athletic Club, Oct. 15. "It's a nice award to win. It is even more special given the enormous impact Mr. Ilitch had in our sports and entertainment profession over the years," Appleby said, during an interview at General Sports and Entertainment, taking place almost 20 years, to the day Appleby took one of the biggest risks of his life.

Training future leaders is at the heart of Wayne State’s REBUILD Detroit program, which works to set students from diverse backgrounds on doctoral tracks, said Wilson. He agreed with Bacow that ensuring that talented high schoolers are aware of financial aid and are encouraged to apply to college is crucial. “The audacity that I had to apply to Yale early and apply to Harvard is because one of my teachers mentored me and explained to me that I could do anything I wanted to do,” said Wilson, a glaucoma expert who graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1980. “We’ve got to do that with the kids. It’s all about expectations — setting high expectations and letting them know what’s available out there and having them make that leap so they do apply to the Harvards and the Michigans and the Ivies. Too many kids just don’t even make that attempt, so it’s upon all of us to really help them."

In August, Wayne State University held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new Mike Ilitch School of Business, a $40 million, state-of-the-art facility in Detroit’s Midtown neighborhood. The business school announced another piece of good news this summer when alumnus Russ Belinsky donated $500,000 to establish the Belinsky Entrepreneurial Learning Library, which aims to kick-start student and faculty entrepreneurship. Belinsky’s funding is meant to provide resources, training, and mentorship to students and faculty in order to help them launch investment-ready startups or startups based on the university’s intellectual property.