U.S. Sen. Carl Levin will receive an honorary doctoral degree from Wayne State University during spring commencement ceremonies at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 5, in Detroit's Cobo Arena. Receiving the prestigious Howard A. Donnelly Award will be graduating seniors DeWayne R. Hayes of Detroit and Kimberly L. Spaulding of Farmington Hills. The award recognizes outstanding contributions to the university with regard to student activities, leadership and service, along with superior academic achievement.
At the ceremonies, WSU President Irvin D. Reid will confer degrees upon approximately 3,000 students in the May graduating class.
Carl Levin, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee and co-chair of the Senate Great Lakes Task Force, will be awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree in recognition of his long and distinguished career in public service. He has served in the Senate since 1979. Before that, he was a member of the Detroit City Council from 1969-77, including a term as council president. From 1964-67, he was Michigan special assistant attorney general and the first general counsel for the Michigan Civil Rights Commission.
In 2002, Levin chaired a Congressional panel that conducted an extensive examination into the collapse of Enron Corp. The investigation, which exposed deceptive accounting practices, contributed to passage of new laws governing corporate accounting. A Detroit native, Levin is a graduate of Swarthmore College and Harvard University Law School.
DeWayne Hayes will receive a Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies degree with a co-major in peace and conflict studies. A Wayne County sheriff's deputy who is active in community relations with the department, he has long been active in volunteer work with a variety of organizations.
His volunteer commitments have included participation in Career Day at the Detroit Lions Academy, an alternative middle school in Detroit. He also has volunteered to assist with the Youth Civic Literacy-Urban Agenda Project directed by the political science department at WSU and the Multicultural Experience in Leadership Development, a program of the university's Center for Peace and Conflict Studies. Hayes has been active in student organizations and was inducted recently into Wayne State's David Mackenzie Honor Society in recognition of outstanding scholarship, service and loyalty to the university. He is a Detroit Southwestern High School graduate.
Kimberly Spaulding will receive a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in elementary education. A four-year member of the WSU women's hockey team, she was named captain by teammates during her last two seasons and set the school record for games played. She was twice named to the College Hockey America Women's All-Academic Team. She also has been named to the WSU Athletic Director's Honor Roll for academic achievement six times, and she served as president of the university's Student Athlete Advisory Committee. During three of her four seasons on the hockey team, she won the President's Award, which goes to the team member with the highest grade-point average.
Spaulding is a member of both the Golden Key International Honor Society and the David Mackenzie Honor Society at WSU. She has participated in numerous community outreach projects, including food drives, volunteer work at youth hockey practices and tutoring at the Detroit Lions Academy. She is a graduate of Farmington Hills Harrison High School.