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

Five universities are finalists for degree completion award

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.

October 10, 2018

Sears facing bankruptcy: Here's what consumers need to know

Sears may be days away from bankruptcy. The long-troubled retailer has reportedly started making the moves for a filing, leaving nearly 1,000 Sears and Kmart locations on the chopping block. The company is $134 million in debt and hasn't turned a profit since 2010. Laura Bartel, professor of bankruptcy law at Wayne State University, has been watching it decline as the retail industry as a whole goes under, and online shopping takes over. Over the past decade, Sears has closed a lot of stores to downsize but hasn't been able to get its finances under control. In Michigan alone, in May, consumers learned four traditional Sears stores were closing. Then in July, it was announced the Sears at Oakland Mall and eight other locations would buckle by September.

October 10, 2018

WSU president: Let's listen to students, businesses

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.

October 9, 2018

Donations to WSU's medical school surpasses $190M campaign goal

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.

October 9, 2018

“As You Like It” announced at the Hilberry Theatre

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.

October 9, 2018

The summer melt: Why some college-bound kids don’t go

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. 

October 9, 2018