Wayne State’s annual Student Success Summit was standing-room-only — a strong representation of the campus community’s ongoing commitment to growing a culture around understanding and meeting the needs of all students.

“Wayne State is becoming a national model for student success around affordability and access,” said Provost Keith Whitfield. “It’s important to stop and congratulate ourselves, but we’ve also got to double down on our efforts and keep pushing. I’m so appreciative of the work that you all do, and I know that, together, we can always find more room to grow and continue to do better for all of our students.”

The summit brought together faculty and staff from all areas of campus on Nov. 22 for networking, dialogue and workshops based around the theme “Caring, Collaborating, and Educating.” Attendees gathered to reflect on the university’s accomplishments and ongoing goals, including remarks from Senior Associate Provost for Student Success Monica Brockmeyer about the 2030 vision for student success.

“We have known for some time that higher education has been under tremendous strain, and we know because of those stressors, education is going to change,” Brockmeyer said. “We don’t know exactly what it’s going to look like, but we are already leading the charge as the nation’s number one public research, student success research university. Wayne State is already the university that the nation has been looking for.”

Brockmeyer continued, thanking faculty and staff for their ongoing dedication to student success, citing that each individual brings a unique identity and experience to their role — creating the potential for a meaningful, and mutually beneficial, impact on all students.

“You all are already well on the path to living and breathing the practices of student success and innovation,” she said. “I know that part of the innovation at Wayne State is love — we’ve already demonstrated our love for our students and their potential, and our love for the university and all of it’s potential. Because of that, I know that we have it within ourselves to become the nation’s number one student success university.”

While much time was spent looking ahead, there were many recent accomplishments to celebrate at the summit, too. Wayne State has recently been nationally recognized by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) with back-to-back awards, including the 2019 Innovation & Economic Prosperity Talent Award for its exemplary initiatives in education and workforce development and the 2018 Project Degree Completion Award for its increased graduation rate and ongoing student retention initiative.

The APLU awards are among other recent notable accomplishments at WSU, including:

• Posting the largest six-year graduation rate improvement in the nation last year — increasing to 48% from 26% — while the African American graduation rate almost tripled.
• Increasing extramural research awards to $260 million, the highest in university history.
• Raising $776.5 million during a capital campaign — ahead of schedule — exceeding the original goal of $750 million.
• Enrolling the largest full-time freshman class in Wayne State’s 150-year history, while most other Michigan public universities experienced a decrease in enrollment.

Tia Brown McNair, one of the nation’s leading experts in educational access, inclusivity and excellence, presented a keynote address titled “Becoming a Student Ready University, Intentionality in Design.” Additionally, the summit also included the following breakout sessions, designed to spark discussion about what WSU can do to further support students:

• Reintroduction & Responsibility — Supporting Student Success in our Student Service Center, presented by Latonia Garrett and Renee Keller
• Developing and Launching Assessment for the New General Education, presented by Cathy Barrette, Jeff Pruchnic and Jennifer Wareham
• Teaching as a Team Sport: Efforts to Build Collaboration between Faculty, Advisers, and Academic Staff, presented by members of the Wayne State Academy of Teachers
• Career Services and Gen Z: The Road to Career Readiness, presented by Shawn Pewitt, Susan Crowley and Arlinda Pringle
• Returning and Reentry: Guiding Adult Students in the Way Back to Wayne State, Graduation, and Beyond, presented by Amber Neher and Amanda Rosales
• WSU Students: The Faces of Higher Education in the 21st Century, presented by Monica Brockmeyer

More than 30 Warriors from across campus shared posters celebrating their role in Student Success. The following were selected by attendees as the winning entries:

• Collaboration: Trycennia Dean-Motley, Housing and Residential Life
• Caring: Leonard Savala, Office of Multicultural Student Engagement
• Educating: Avanti Herczeg, academic advisor, Art and Art History; Katie MacDonald, instructor, Art and Art History; and Erin Wiseman, academic advisor, College of Fine, Performing, and Communication Arts

This year’s summit was organized by the newly formed Student Success Operational Excellence team, led by Darryl Gardner, and would not have been possible without the planning committee:

• Helen Wilson, University Advising Center
• Marisa Henderson, Mathematics
• Eman Naga, Student Senate
• renee hoogland, English
• Kevin Deegan-Krause, Political Science
• Annmarie Caño, Office of the Provost
• Sara Kacin, Office of Teaching and Learning
• Dennis Schwartz, Office of the Provost
• Katie Gallagher, Office of the Provost

For more information about student success, and to learn how you can get involved, visit provost.wayne.edu/student-success. Photos from the event can be viewed here.