Two Wayne State University seniors, who are among 3,400 students in the December graduating class, will be accorded special honors during winter commencement ceremonies on Dec. 11 in Cobo Arena. Kurt M. Hunsanger of Sterling Heights and Viveka Borum of Warren will receive the prestigious David D. Henry Award. The award is given to a man and to a woman in the midyear graduating class in recognition of outstanding contributions in the areas of leadership, service and student activities along with high academic achievement.

They will join university dignitaries and other honorees on the speakers' platform during the ceremonies and will address fellow graduates and the audience at large. Also to be honored during commencement exercises are Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm and labor activist Dolores Huerta, both of whom will receive honorary Doctor of Laws degrees. Daniel Angel, president of Marshall University, and Charlene Turner Johnson, president of the Michigan Neighborhood Partnership, will receive Distinguished Alumni awards from the university.

Hunsanger, who majored in business logistics and will graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration, has been active in the School of Business Administration Student Senate, where he served as president and in other capacities. A member of the Wayne State football team for two years before increasing responsibilities at school and work entailed leaving the team, he nevertheless continued his support for the WSU athletic program by assisting in fundraising endeavors. He also joined teammates visiting children at Henry Ford Hospital and participating in the annual Paint the Town fix-up event in Detroit.

Hunsanger is a 2003 recipient of the Dean's Award for Outstanding Service in the School of Business Administration. In 2002 he was awarded the Kean Scholarship, which honors fulltime working students.

Borum will receive a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in mathematics from the WSU College of Science. A member of the Emerging Scholars Program (ESP), a demanding and selective honors calculus program, she compiled a notable record of achievement and was offered a position as instructor in the program's summer mathematics classes - called Math Corps - which provides assistance to middle and high school students in the Detroit Public Schools. The student support coordinator for the program praised Borum's "determination to succeed, commitment to excellence and willingness to work hard." In 2002, she participated in a summer research internship program at Cornell University Superior academic performance and a strong work ethic has resulted in several honors, awards and scholarships for Borum. Her community service involvement includes volunteer work for Meals on Wheels, Veterans Hospital in Detroit, the Focus Hope Walk, Angels' Night and a Breast Cancer Awareness Rally. She has been on the College of Science dean's list consistently since the winter 2000 academic term.

Wayne State University is a premier institution of higher education offering more than 350 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to more than 33,000 students in metropolitan Detroit.