Supporters and friends of U.S. Rep. John Conyers, Jr. have created the Congressman John Conyers, Jr. Endowed Scholarship at Wayne State University to honor Conyers’ 42 years of service to metropolitan Detroit. The scholarship, created in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences with gifts totaling $50,000, will support full-time undergraduate students from Wayne County and Detroit.

“We all long for the day when a lack of funding will not be a consideration for those seeking a college degree,” Conyers said during a reception at Wayne State. “But until then we must deal with the reality of the day. In that spirit, I appreciate this special honor. My heart is overflowing.”

Irvin D. Reid, president of Wayne State University, pledged an additional $10,000 from his President’s enhancement fund to increase the scholarship endowment.

John Conyers entered the U.S. House of Representatives in 1964 and is the second most senior member of Congress. He recently was elected chairman of the House Committee on the Judiciary and is a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus. He received a Bachelor of Arts from Wayne State University in 1957 and a Juris Doctor from the Wayne State Law School in 1958.