Wayne State announces $5M gift, new testing lab

As a graduate of the Wayne State University’s College of Engineering, Avinash Rachmale has had an ongoing relationship with the school. He started a business locally, hires Wayne State graduates and sits on the college’s Board of Visitors. That relationship grew Thursday with the university announcing that Rachmale and his wife, Hema, have donated $5 million to the College of Engineering for scholarships and a new testing laboratory.

October 26, 2018

With clock ticking, will Trump come to Michigan for Bill Schuette?

"When presidents visit, it does appear that it increases voter turnout for their candidates, historically," said Jeffrey Grynaviski, associate professor of political science at Wayne State University. But another question is whether Trump coming would be good for Trump. Grynaviski said his visits so far have been to more red than purple states, and he's using his influence on congressional midterms, too. But a president has the most potential influence with candidates that are on the bubble and close to winning, Grynaviski said. 

October 26, 2018

Expert views on Michigan's recreational marijuana proposal

At the event hosted by the Wayne State University College of Pharmacy and Health Studies, Christine Rabinak, an associate professor of pharmacy practice at the college, detailed the history of marijuana in the U.S. and the effects and characteristics of different strains. Randall Commissaris, an associate professor at Wayne State, has studied the effects of marijuana on driving ability. He told the audience Tuesday that a "yes" vote on Prop 1 will make Michigan either the ninth or tenth state to legalize recreational pot.

October 25, 2018

Dig it: WSU archaeology team unearths Hamtramck history

A professor and her 15 students have spent the semester digging it out from beneath the gravel. On site every Monday in the city's first comprehensive archaeology project, Krysta Ryzewski's class is using hand tools, imagination and analysis to uncover history, mystery and modern connections. "It's one of the challenges for us," says Ryzewski, to take fragments from the ground, match them with what's known or what's legend or what's seen on old maps, "and learn how people built and lived in the city."

October 25, 2018

Coaxing dropouts to return and earn degrees

This fall the university is extending a new debt-forgiveness program, currently offered to enrolled students, to students who dropped out. The program, known as Warrior Way Back, allows students who owe the university less than $1,500 to register for classes and have their debt gradually erased. Students can enroll part-time, and if they are working toward completing their degrees, making satisfactory academic progress and are at least two years removed from when they initially dropped out, Wayne State will forgive $500 for each completed semester. “A lot of these students left because they owed that money,” said Dawn Medley, associate vice president for enrollment management at Wayne State.

October 24, 2018

Patton Elementary partners with WSU to teach kids about healthy living

Patton Elementary school is involved in several initiatives with Wayne State University to encourage kids to eat healthier and be more active. “We partnered with Wayne State University to provide healthier options for students,” said Patton Elementary School Principal Jean Williams. “They helped fund a program to encourage healthy living, they provided new playground equipment, and helped us form an after-school program to get kids active.” This is all part of a grant received from Wayne State University earlier this year.

October 24, 2018

Roundup: OptimizeRx, Parabricks, URC

The University Research Corridor (URC), a partnership between Michigan State University, the University of Michigan, and Wayne State University, has released its 2017 economic impact report. According to the report, the three universities contributed $18.7 billion to the state’s economy last year, up from $16.5 billion in 2015. The organization says that marks a 46 percent increase since 2007, the year it was formed and began benchmarking its impact on the state of Michigan. The URC also reported that it generated 78,845 jobs in 2017. Last year, the report says, the URC spent $2.3 billion on research and development, an increase of 54 percent since 2007. The URC also attracted 94 cents of every federal dollar spent on academic research in Michigan, and accounts for 92 percent of all R&D conducted at higher education institutions in the state.

October 22, 2018

WSU marks milestone anniversary, major fundraiser

Wayne State University is celebrating its 150th anniversary and the completion of a $750 million fundraising campaign. The university says festivities planned for Friday include the presentation of a sesquicentennial time capsule and a program hosted by alumna and actress S. Epatha Merkerson. Another alumnus, State Budget Director John Walsh, is expected to speak along with Wayne State University President M. Roy Wilson and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan. Also planned are a campus festival and student block party with music, food and other events. The university says the event provides an opportunity to celebrate what it called “Pivotal Moments: Our Campaign for Wayne State University.” The fundraiser met its goal in July, three months early, with roughly 84,000 donors.

October 21, 2018

As email use declines, universities try new digital tactics to reach alumni

At Wayne State University, Associate Vice President, Alumni Affairs & Advancement Services and Executive Director, Alumni Association Peter Caborn said they prepared to celebrate the sesquicentennial of the university by asking alumni to record themselves talking about their Wayne State experiences or taking a photo of an item they associate with their Wayne State days, such as a class schedule. Alumni could post these remembrances to a microsite that allowed each item to be cataloged as part of a digital time capsule. 

October 21, 2018

Warrior Way Back: An innovative debt forgiveness program at WStU

Dawn S. Medley is Associate Vice President of Enrollment at Wayne State University, a key partner toDetroit Drives Degrees, one of our new Graduate! Network affiliate communities. In an opinion article, Remove Barriers to College Degrees, published in early June by The Detroit News, Dawn explains Wayne State’s “Warrior Way Back” initiative. 

October 19, 2018

Hamtramck will soon break ground on its first archaeological dig

Dr. Krysta Ryzewski, an associate professor of anthropology at Wayne State, is currently leading a team of Wayne State students in an excavation of the old village hall in Hamtramck to uncover any city secrets it might hold.  The village hall, which was built in 1915 and demolished decades ago, once housed the town police and fire departments, municipal buildings, and the Nut House bar that became popular following Prohibition. 

October 18, 2018

Five reasons to stop reading your children fairytales now

Stories like Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast are so ingrained in popular culture that it can be all too easy to overlook the damaging ideologies that they perpetuate via misogynistic characters, degrading plot lines and racial uniformity. Now, parents are imposing bans on these classic Disney tales, with Keira Knightley and Kristen Bell among those criticizing some of the key storylines, which depict women being rescued by men and kissed while they sleep. Donald Haase, author of Fairytales and Feminism, encourages parents to read these stories skeptically, so as to confront such archaisms rather than endorse them. “They can read or tell classical tales in ways that intentionally question or subvert the stereotypes,” the Wayne State University professor emeritus told The Independent.

October 18, 2018

Immigration experience sparked her faith in the ‘American justice system’

When Asma Al-Khshali and her family moved from Qatar to the United States seven years ago, their application for permanent residency was initially declined. The family hired an immigration attorney — Al-Khshali’s first exposure to the legal system in the U.S. “I was very intrigued by it,” she says. “The immigration judge who ultimately granted our stay in the country changed my family’s life, and my faith in the American justice system was cemented right there and then. I wanted to contribute to the system’s legacy ever since.” She headed to Wayne Law School a year ago, following her older brother — an attorney — into the legal world. 

October 17, 2018

Conversations with Wayne State University 10/17/18

Mildred Gaddis spoke with Mark A. Jackson, director of the Academic Pathways to Excellence program at Wayne State, and Darrell Dawsey, associate director of community communications at Wayne State. The three talked about how APEX Scholars provides effective, supportive services to students to ensure a successful transition from high school to undergraduate studies at Wayne State University.

October 17, 2018

The big data disruption: How big data analytics can impact health care

In health care, big data is being used to predict epidemics, improve care, prevent unnecessary diseases and deaths, motivate patient fitness and lower costs. As assistant vice president of Translational Science and Clinical Research Innovation at Wayne State University and associate chair of Clinical Research for WSU’s Department of Emergency Medicine, Phillip Levy and his team develop, design and conduct studies on the determinants of health and diseases in the Detroit area based on massive sets of data.

October 15, 2018

An Hour with ... Dr. M. Roy Wilson

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.  

October 12, 2018

Motor City Match winner Rebel Cycle Studio opens in Detroit

A 35-year-old Wayne State University writing instructor is offering more classes outside of her day job. Amy Latawiec invested $40,000 to launch Rebel Cycle Studio LLC in the Detroit City Fieldhouse in Detroit's lower east side. The new fitness center's mission is to "shatter perceptions of what healthy 'looks' like" by promoting a supportive, body-positive environment in cycling classes for beginners to experts. The indoor cycle studio won a $5,000 grant from Motor City Match in August to get the off the ground. Latawiec, a former triathlete who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2012, was inspired to open the studio as a graduate student at Wayne State University. She earned bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees from the Detroit college.

October 12, 2018

The Greater Detroit Philanthropy Awards are back with eight new recipients

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.

October 11, 2018

Being smart is about more than an IQ test

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.

October 11, 2018

Detroit schools to expand computer science curriculum by 2021

More of Detroit's students could be in line to fill technology jobs in Michigan as the public school district gradually introduces computer science education to K-12 classrooms through 2021. Detroit Public Schools Community District is teaming with Quicken Loans Inc. of Detroit to create a curriculum that could build a pipeline to 14,000 IT vacancies and growing demand for tech skills in Michigan. The plan was announced Tuesday at the CSforAll Summit being hosted this week at Wayne State University.

October 10, 2018