DETROIT (June 15, 2009) - More than 100 Wayne State University Law School alumni, friends and Detroit-area disadvantaged youth gathered for the 6^th annual Mark Weiss Day at Comerica Park on June 5, 2009, to watch the Detroit Tigers take on the Los Angeles Angels. The event raised more than $13,000 in support of the Mark Weiss Memorial Scholarship Fund, which was created six years ago to honor the legacy of Wayne Law alumnus Mark Weiss, '69, and his efforts to fight for the rights of the poor and powerless.

The Mark Weiss Memorial Scholarship Fund was established as a joint project of Wayne Law and the Michigan Association for Justice. The original goal of the fund was to raise $250,000 to provide scholarships for Wayne Law students and recent graduates who share the same dream as Weiss - a commitment to providing legal aid to the underserved in the community. This year's event brings the fund's total to more than $265,000.

"In addition to honoring Mark's legacy and raising scholarship dollars, this event provides a wonderful opportunity for area children and Wayne Law students, alumni and friends to participate in one of his favorite pastimes," said Michael Pitt, '74, event organizer and friend of Weiss. "The generous support of more than 200 lawyers, judges, friends and family members over the last six years has allowed us to provide scholarship dollars to 13 Wayne Law students and recent graduates." 

According to first-ever recipient Joelle Gurnoe, '05, the scholarship was instrumental during her years as a law student and has proven invaluable well beyond graduation.

"The Mark Weiss Memorial Scholarship gave me the help I needed to continue and successfully complete law school," Gurnoe said. "It was such a sizeable award that it allowed me to leave Wayne Law with fewer loans. The scholarship also allowed me to achieve my career objective to work in public interest law. I am now in private practice and I do a great deal of pro bono work for families with children who have disabilities." 

The game marked the first Major League Baseball (MLB) game for many of the children in attendance, who were given the opportunity through the joint efforts of Barry Waldman, '69, Cass Community Social Services and Mom's Place.  

"I would like to say thank you, again, to Barry Waldman, Cass Community Social Services and Mom's Place, for their efforts in getting deserving members of our community to the picnic and game," Pitt said. "I look forward to next year's 7^th annual Mark Weiss Day."

For more information on how you can make a gift to the Mark Weiss Memorial Scholarship Fund, please contact Mary Hollens, senior director of Development and Alumni Relations, at am2674@wayne.edu or (313) 577-3113.

About Wayne Law
Wayne State University Law School has educated and served the Detroit metropolitan area since its inception as Detroit City Law School in 1927. Located at 471 West Palmer Street in Detroit's re-energized historic cultural center, the Law School remains committed to student success and features modern lecture and court facilities, multi-media and distance learning classrooms, a 250-seat auditorium, and the Arthur Neef Law Library, which houses one of the nation's 40 largest legal collections. Taught by an internationally recognized and expert faculty, Wayne Law students experience a high-quality legal education via a growing array of hands-on curricular offerings, client clinics, and access to well over 100 internships with local and non-profit entities each year. Its 11,000 living alumni, who work in every state of the nation and more than a dozen foreign countries, are experts in their disciplines and include leading members of the local, national and international legal communities. For more information, visit http://www.law.wayne.edu/.