“Engaged Learning: A Journey to the Future” will be the topic during Wayne State University’s Fourth Annual Student Academic Success Summit, to be held on Thursday, Feb. 23 and Friday, Feb. 24, on the Detroit campus.

Leading educational speakers Vincent Tinto, Judy Patton and J. Herman Blake will be presenters during the two-day summit. The general public is invited to the Feb. 23 session, featuring Tinto, which is scheduled from 4-6:30 p.m. followed by a reception at 6:30 p.m. This free session will be held at the Wayne State Law School’s Spencer M. Partrich Auditorium, located at 471 West Ferry, in Detroit. Topics will focus on engaging students inside and outside of the classroom in ways that achieve increased academic success.

Tinto is a distinguished university professor at Syracuse University and chair of the higher education program. He has written extensively on higher education, particularly student retention and the impact of learning communities on student growth and attainment. As a member of the Pathways to College Network, he is currently engaged in a national effort to increase access to college.

Patton is currently serving as director of University Studies at Portland State University (PSU). Her expertise includes general education, higher education reform, student learning, learning communities, community-based learning and assessment.

Blake is currently Scholar in Residence at the University of South Carolina Beaufort developing the Sea Islands Institute. As a teacher, author, college and university president, community organizer and lecturer, he has gained international recognition for his work in increasing access, academic achievement and retention of underrepresented students in higher education. The Friday, Feb. 24 all-day session, which is offered to members of the Wayne State campus community, will include interactive and motivating sessions for anyone interested in improving student success in higher education. Sessions will be held at the McGregor Memorial Conference Center on the main campus.

The summit is sponsored by Wayne State University through the Office of the Provost and Honors Program. For further information, visit www.doso.wayne.edu/SASS.html, or contact Ron Kent, summit chair, Career Services, 313-577-3390, e-mail: ad0831@wayne.edu.

Wayne State University is a premier institution of higher education offering more than 350 academic programs through 11 schools and colleges to more than 33,000 students in metropolitan Detroit.