Yousif Ghafari believes his $9 million pledge to Wayne State University can help make Southeast Michigan more globally competitive by helping to better educate students, primarily in high-demand technology and science fields. "As (we) well know, the manufacturing jobs in this state have disappeared," he said. "We can't survive economically if we can't compete with the rest of the world." His gift, comprised of both a multiple-year cash pledge and an estate gift made by naming the university as the beneficiary of his life insurance policy, will help fund a 100,000-square-foot, three-story engineering development center next to WSU's existing engineering building. Ghafari will contribute $1.5 million of the project's estimated $26.5 million cost. His pledge also funds an endowed faculty chair in mathematics, in medicine and in engineering with $6 million, and a $1.5 million endowment to fund general scholarships for students pursuing those disciplines. A photo of Ghafari and a rendering of the proposed engineering development center are included.