Wayne State University English professor Bill Harris, winner of the $50,000 Kresge Eminent Artist award for 2011, is available to discuss this unique distinction.

Each year, the Kresge Eminent Artist Award recognizes a metropolitan Detroit artist whose work and career exemplify sustained, outstanding achievement and a commitment to sharing that work with the local community.

Harris, recognized for his immense contributions to Detroit's literary scene, joins visual artist Charles McGee (2008) and trumpeter Marcus Belgrave (2009) as a winner of the award from the Troy-based Kresge Foundation.

Nominations for the award are made by the Kresge Arts in Detroit Advisory Council, a volunteer group of leaders in the metropolitan Detroit cultural community who provide external oversight to the program.

More information in the Kresge Eminent Artist awardcan be found at http://kresge.collegeforcreativestudies.edu/eminent-artist-award.html.

Please contact Wayne State University public relations to arrange an interview.

Wayne State University is a premier urban research institution of higher education offering more than 400 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to nearly 32,000 students.