Financier and philanthropist Max Fisher will receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Wayne State University during commencement ceremonies to be held at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 3, in Detroit's Cobo Arena. He will join some 3,200 degree recipients who make up the university's spring graduating class.
Fisher, a strong city of Detroit booster and a founding member of Detroit Renaissance, is being honored for his longstanding commitment to the economic and cultural vitality of southeastern Michigan and for his exemplary work on behalf of charitable causes.
He has served the Detroit area in numerous ways, from raising money for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra to service on the boards of civic organizations. He has supported hospitals, invested in development of Detroit's New Center area and established scholarships. His expertise in Middle Eastern affairs and Jewish issues led to his being an adviser to several U.S. presidents, and he received the Presidential Citizen Award from President Ronald Reagan.
Fisher, who has a business degree from Ohio State University, also has a long relationship with Wayne State, where he served on the board of directors for the WSU Press in the 1960s. In 1973, he received the WSU Board of Governors Distinguished Citizen Award as well as the university's Builders of Detroit Award.
Also to be honored during commencement ceremonies are graduating seniors Don L. Custodio of Lincoln Park and Carol L. Moran of Harrison Township. They will receive Howard A. Donnelly Awards, which are presented to a man and a woman in the spring graduating class for outstanding contributions to the university in the areas of leadership, service and student activities, consistent with high scholarship.
Custodio, who majored in chemistry will graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He served on the WSU Student Council Community Affairs Committee, the Student Center Advisory Board and the Student Activities Budget Committee. He has been active in the Golden Key National Honor Society, Association of Pre-Medical Students, Phi Beta Sigma Honorary Society and other student groups.
A WSU Presidential Scholar, he received a first place WSU Minority Programs Undergraduate Research Award and has twice earned chemistry undergraduate scholarships. His community service includes volunteer work at Henry Ford Hospital in Wyandotte, Children's Hospital of Michigan, Focus Hope, St. Vincent de Paul Society and the Detroit Rescue Michigan.
Moran, who will receive a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing, has served as both president and vice president of the College of Nursing Council. She also is the college's representative to the WSU Student Council and is the student nursing representative to the WSU Alumni Association. She is a member of the Michigan Student Nurses Association and the American Association of Critical Care Nurses.
A member of the Golden Key National Honor Society, she received a WSU Board of Governors Scholarship, a Metro Health Foundation Scholarship, and the Heart of Giving Scholarship, among others. She is a community service volunteer with her church, organized an I.V. therapy workshop for nursing students and was a volunteer assistant at previous WSU commencement ceremonies.