From left to right: Robert L. Thomas, Michael Acheson, and Randal Charlton.

Exciting developments in academic excellence, research, and national and global exposure promise to be the rule as the Wayne State University College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) Board of Visitors (BOV) met on Jan. 25 to outline the upcoming year’s initiatives.

Outgoing BOV Chair Michael Acheson, managing director of Blue Water Capital in Birmingham, passed the chair’s gavel to Randal Charlton, interim director of Wayne State University’s technology and life sciences incubator, TechTown. Acheson will remain on the board as a member.

The BOV is an integral link between CLAS and the community assisting in securing financial support for scholarships and other college initiatives. Members serve as ambassadors on behalf of the dean, faculty, and student body of the college and also make personal financial gifts that serve as a model to inspire others.

BOV member Iltefat Hamzavi, M.D., clinical assistant professor in the Department of Dermatology at Wayne State, senior staff physician in the Department of Dermatology at Henry Ford Hospital, and executive director of the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding of Clinton Township, says CLAS is looking to create opportunities for all groups in our region by giving them the skills and then exposing them to the international world they will have to work within. “It is a pleasure to serve this wonderful institution,” Hamzavi says.

Wayne State University recently received a $7.77 million grant from the A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Fund of the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan. A. Paul Schaap, CLAS BOV member, former Wayne State University chemistry professor and founder of Southfield-based Lumigen Inc., and his wife Carol, recommended the grant to support expansion of the Chemistry Building and the A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Endowed Distinguished Graduate Stipend Fund at WSU.

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.