No ghosts! No goblins! No screaming banshees! Only dedicated, studious spirits in Wayne State University's (WSU) Mortuary Science building will welcome the public for the traditional Halloween INFO Bash on Oct. 23.
Prospective students, their families and the curious are invited to learn about the professional programs in the WSU Fundamental and Applied Sciences and tour the teaching environments, which include embalming, anatomy, restorative arts, and microbiology laboratories. There is a merchandising room displaying caskets, urns, vault, prayers cards, and other funeral service accessories. The building also houses a museum in which are displayed historical burial preparation implements and instruments.
Formerly a state psychiatric hospital, today the 44,000 square-foot, four-story facility on Woodward at Ferry offers the most advanced teaching and research resources to students in Mortuary Science, Anatomic Pathologists' Assistant, Forensic Investigation, and Clinical Laboratory Science programs.
"Our annual open house is of high interest on the WSU campus and in the Detroit Metro area, with more than 700 people passing through our hallways in a three-hour period," said Peter D. Frade, chair of the Department of Fundamental and Applied Sciences for the WSU Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.
"While we use the Halloween theme to have some fun with our professional studies, our programs offer quality education and training to students who are committed to becoming the best in their chosen Fundamental and Applied Sciences professions," said Frade.
Begun in 1939, the WSU Mortuary Science program was one of the nation's first programs of its kind. Today it is still the only accredited, undergraduate degree program leading to state licensure in Michigan as is the Bachelor of Science degree in Anatomic Pathologists' Assistant program.
"Seventy-five percent of funeral home owners in southeastern Michigan have graduated from the WSU program. Additionally, graduates from the Anatomic Pathologists' Assistant program provide more than 95 percent of the service in support of pathology in southeast Michigan," said Frade.
There is no charge for the WSU Mortuary Science open house from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., Oct. 23 at 5439 Woodward Ave., Detroit, three blocks north of Warren Ave.
Free parking will be available in WSU Lot #33 on Woodward Ave., between Palmer and Ferry streets.
The Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, one of the founding colleges of Wayne State University, is committed to advancing the health and well-being of society through the preparation of highly skilled health care practitioners, and through research to improve health care practices and treatment from urban to global levels.
Wayne State University is a premier institution of higher education offering more than 350 academic programs through 12 schools and colleges to more than 31,000 students in metropolitan Detroit.