Mike Ilitch School of Business adds modernist splash to Woodward Avenue

Wayne State University cut the ribbon Tuesday on its new Mike Ilitch School of Business, the latest addition to downtown Detroit's growing list of attractions. The new school is many things at once: First, it delivers a shot of modernism to Woodward Avenue's mostly traditional architectural environment. Next, the school also fronts directly on Woodward Avenue, vying to become not an isolated ivy-covered building tucked away on a campus, but an open, welcoming addition to the streetscape. WSU President M. Roy Wilson said he and Christopher Ilitch spent a lot of time with architects at SmithGroup trying to design a school that was open and welcoming, with  the many formal and informal gathering places, including the Terrace and an outside lawn suitable for tented events, as a result.

August 21, 2018

Inside the new Mike Ilitch School of Business

"It's going to be a very welcoming place." WSU President M. Roy Wilson said. "I think proximity to the Ilitch organization allows us to focus on sports and entertainment management in a way that would be very difficult for other schools to emulate. There is going to be a great focus on innovation and entrepreneurship at this school, using the inspiration of Mr. Ilitch."

August 21, 2018

Wayne State Mike Ilitch School of Business opens its doors

An exciting new addition in downtown Detroit as the Mike Ilitch School of Business celebrated its formal opening Tuesday. The brand new building will serve most of the business school's 4,000 students. "I am sure Mr. I is looking down upon us and he would be very proud of this building and this school," said M. Roy Wilson, Wayne State president.

August 21, 2018

$59 million Wayne State business school opens with nod to Ilitch legacy

When Wayne State University students start classes next week at the new Mike Ilitch School of Business, they'll enjoy classrooms with views of downtown Detroit's skyline and state-of-the-art facilities in a sleek 125,000-square-foot building on Woodward Avenue. The Ilitch family starred in a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday for its patriarch's namesake business school, 2 1/2 years after the largest donation in Wayne State University history jump-started its construction.

August 21, 2018

Officials cut ribbon for Mike Ilitch School of Business

When students arrive next week at the new Mike Ilitch School of Business at Wayne State University, they’ll sit in classrooms with breathtaking views of the city's downtown skyline down Woodward Avenue. Officials gathered for a ribbon cutting Tuesday for the 125,000-square-foot building at 2771 Woodward Ave.

August 21, 2018

Photos: Inside the Mike Ilitch School of Business

The second major building in the District Detroit is opening, as Wayne State University and Olympia Development celebrate the completion of the Mike Ilitch School of Business. Faculty and staff started moving in earlier this summer, and classes begin Aug. 29 at the building that overlooks downtown Detroit.

August 21, 2018

Tech Time: Smash STEM Academy

A learning opportunity for local high school students at Wayne State University -- Smash Academy is a five-week STEM camp that take students through biology, computer science and math courses. Forty ninth-graders, 20 male and 20 female, were selected last January from among a large group of applicants interested in participating in the five-week program.

August 12, 2018

Women's March inspires Rosie the Riveter book for young readers

Five women are standing together in the drawing, each wearing factory coveralls, each with bright scarves tied around their heads, each raising their right arms and flexing their biceps. They are all Rosies, "a group of women defined not by the identity of a single riveter in a single factory, but by the collective might of hundreds of thousands of women whose labors helped save the world," explains the introduction to "Rosie, a Detroit Herstory." The Wayne State University Press book, which officially arrives Monday, is special in several ways, starting with the fact that it was created by two Detroit women: author Bailey Sisoy Isgro and illustrator Nicole Lapointe, whose friendship just happened to begin through a Rosie-themed trivia question.

August 5, 2018

Making a model of Math Corps

Math Corps, founded in 1991, is a combined academic and mentoring program for Detroit public school students in grades 6-12. It features a summer camp, year-round Saturday programs, and enrichment courses for elementary school children. In addition to math, it also focuses on life skills, said Executive Director Steven Kahn. WSU Math Corps, which is attracting national and international attention, is spinning off from the university as it begins to expand to new sites. The program is heading into DPS middle schools in the coming academic year through a new pilot with the district, other states with a $3 million National Sciences Foundation grant and possibly the West African countries of Ghana and Nigeria, which have been benchmarking it. It's a story not often told: a Detroit nonprofit exporting an impactful program. But the program hasn't spread in Detroit beyond the approximately 3,000 students who've come through over its 26-year-history.

August 5, 2018

Actor Hill Harper partners with Wayne State, others for youth program

Actor Hill Harper is deepening his connections to Detroit by establishing a new youth empowerment program in partnership with Wayne State University and local companies. Harper, who stars in the CBS drama "CSI:NY," is launching the Summer Empowerment Academy at the Detroit university. It is a weeklong mentorship program for incoming ninth-grade students in the city. Wayne State representatives and alumni are scheduled to host workshops on the college planning and admissions process, while entrepreneurs and employees from Microsoft and TechTown Detroit will also speak to the kids about technology careers. Tours of Quicken Loans and the Motown Museum are also planned.

August 5, 2018

N.M. telescope for Wayne State magnifies ties to late friend

Russ Carroll was a bit above it all and Dan Zowada was more down to Earth, but they shared an interest in the stars, and the two kids like that in a class will always form their own constellation. As high school ended, they took separate paths. Carroll, who is brilliant, went mostly west. Zowada, who was creative, stayed put. Then three years and two weeks ago, Zowada died — which is where the rest of the story begins. Nearly 2,000 miles away from the glow of Detroit's skyline, in the desert of southwest New Mexico, sits the Dan Zowada Memorial Observatory — Wayne State University’s gateway to the cosmos. The observatory and land were gifted to WSU's Department of Physics and Astronomy by Carroll, a retired entrepreneur and astronomer, in honor of Zowada, his late childhood friend.

July 30, 2018

Nonprofit's goal: A bench for every bus stop in Detroit

It started off as two guys out of college coming up with an idea to help their community in Detroit: a nonprofit group out to make waiting for a bus in Detroit less taxing. Now Sit on Detroit, which supplies bus benches at stops throughout the city, is hoping to raise its profile even more at a workshop Saturday at apparel maker Carhartt's retail store in downtown Detroit. They'll demonstrate how to build a bus bench and discuss how the public can get involved. The organization started in 2013 as two former Wayne State University urban planning students, Kyle Bartell and Charles Molnar, saw a need in Detroit to make public transit users more comfortable while waiting for rides.

July 27, 2018

WSU president discusses higher education with Holland residents

WSU President M. Roy Wilson hosted a reception Tuesday, July 24, at New Holland Brewing to discuss higher education with Holland residents. The evening was one part of his “Road Warrior” challenge, a 500-mile bicycle ride across the state. As he biked through Michigan, he stopped in four cities — Marshall, Holland, Owosso and Imlay city — to spark conversations with community members about their expectations of higher education. “There’s really no better way to get to know a community than this,” Wilson said. Having never been to Holland before, he arrived with an open mind to learn what the Holland community can bring to Wayne State. For Wilson, the evening was very much an opportunity to think outside of the box and get to know cities he doesn’t usually interact with.

July 25, 2018

Thinking beyond the box

Dr. M. Roy Wilson isn't just thinking outside of the box when it comes to understanding the needs and concerns of those seeking higher education, he's literally going beyond the box to do so. And he's doing it on two wheels. The 64-year-old president of Wayne State University is stepping out of Detroit to embark on his second 'Road Warrior bicycle tour' in an effort to engage citizens in open and candid dialogue about higher education. The 500-mile trip will take Roy and his four companions through Holland and Owosso before landing in Imlay City on Thursday, July 26. While in Imlay City, Wilson will be at Hiram's Tavern from 5:30-7 p.m., to chat with patrons and visitors.

July 25, 2018

WSU president to visit Michigan cities during 500-mile bicycle listening tour

Summer isn't the offseason for Wayne State University President M. Roy Wilson. For him, fitness and recruitment are a year-round endeavor.

July 18, 2018

Wayne State president to bike through Holland

During his 500-mile bike ride across the state of Michigan, Wayne State University’s president will be stopping in Holland to talk with residents about higher education.

July 17, 2018

Wayne Law names Weinberg associate dean

Professor Jonathan T. Weinberg is Wayne State University Law School’s inaugural associate dean for research and faculty development.  

July 17, 2018

Wayne State reaches $750M fundraising goal early

Wayne State University has reached the $750 million goal of its “Pivotal Moments” fundraising campaign, three months early and ahead of its 150th anniversary as it continues its work in Detroit, officials announced Tuesday.

July 10, 2018

Active U.S. military members may qualify for 50% tuition

Active U.S. military members may now qualify for a 50 percent tuition discount through Wayne State University. The Active Military Student Discount is designed for members who are on active duty in any of the U.S. Armed Forces, including the Reserves and National Guard. 

July 2, 2018

Wayne State President visiting Marshall on Road Warrior tour

(Pg. 13) Wayne State University’s President M. Roy Wilson is embarking on his second annual Road Warriors tour during the last week of July. Marshall is the first stop on this year’s tour. Wilson, a biking enthusiast, is biking to four cities in five days holding a reception in each city. Wilson went to three cities during the inaugural tour last summer.  

June 29, 2018