DETROIT – A new agreement between two of Detroit’s leading higher education institutions provides transfer students with a clear path from an associate degree to a bachelor’s, limiting potential loss of credits and helping families save tuition dollars. The new Transfer Pathways Agreement between Wayne County Community College District (WCCCD) and Wayne State University maximizes credits students earn while completing an associate degree at WCCCD and transferring to WSU to complete their bachelor’s. A special signing ceremony at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, March 9, at the Wayne State University Integrative Biosciences Center, 6135 Woodward Ave., Detroit, 48202, will celebrate the program, which goes into effect in fall 2023. Wayne State University President M. Roy Wilson and WCCCD Chancellor Curtis L. Ivery will officially sign the agreement and speak about the importance of the partnership, as will several students who began their academic careers at WCCCD and are now proud Wayne State Warriors. "We are proud to announce an agreement that continues our work with an institution that shares our commitment to helping people thrive through higher education,” Chancellor Ivery says. “This partnership will help more students forge career pathways to high-wage and in-demand job opportunities that will allow them to grow in place, support themselves and their families, and help their communities grow." The Pathways program provides a seamless transfer between schools, with the goal of students completing a bachelor’s within four years. Students will be eligible for WSU transfer merit scholarships valued at up to $6,000 a year and receive specialized academic advising and career counseling prior to transferring and once they enroll at Wayne State. “This new agreement strengthens the collaboration that already exists between our two institutions and elevates it to a new level,” President Wilson says. “But, more importantly, it benefits students in Detroit and Wayne County and contributes to the region and state’s competitiveness. “With our new agreement, we are offering students – including nontraditional and adult learners – high-quality education and seamless pathways to earn two degrees, which will set them on a trajectory of economic advancement and social mobility.”  WCCCD Pathways students who meet program requirements will receive guaranteed admission to Wayne State. Requirements include earning at least 60 credit hours with a 2.5 or higher GPA and completing their associate degree at WCCCD. About Wayne County Community College District WCCCD, one of the largest urban community colleges in Michigan, is a multi-campus district with six campus locations and educational centers, including the Mary Ellen Stempfle University Center, the Heinz C. Prechter Educational and Performing Arts Center, the Michigan Institute for Public Safety Education (MIPSE), the Curtis L. Ivery Health and Wellness Education Center and the Outdoor Careers Training Center. The District serves students across 32 cities and townships, and more than 500 square miles. WCCCD is committed to the continued development of innovative programs, workforce transformation, hosting community-based training sessions, and improving student facilities and services. www.wcccd.edu. About Wayne State University Wayne State University is one of the nation's pre-eminent public research universities in an urban setting. Through its multidisciplinary approach to research and education, and its ongoing collaboration with government, industry and other institutions, the university seeks to enhance economic growth and improve the quality of life in the city of Detroit, state of Michigan and throughout the world.    

Racial justice leaders are hosting a day-long event at Wayne State University on Tuesday designed to help people heal from racism. The National Day of Healing from Racism, held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Student Center Ballroom, is focused on learning how to discuss racism’s impact and how to heal from it. The event is hosted by the Detroit Equity Action Lab (DEAL), an initiative of the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights at the Law School, in collaboration with the WSU Office of Multicultural Student Engagement and the WSU Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. “We are thrilled to be back in person for this year’s event after successfully pivoting to a virtual format in 2021 and 2022," DEAL Director Asandi Conner said in a statement Wednesday. “We have a dynamic roster of practitioners, facilitators, faculty, and staff contributing to our collective effort to acknowledge and heal from racism’s wounds.”  

Wayne State University is hosting a two-part event dedicated to honoring and preserving the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr. to celebrate the 60th anniversary of his famed 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The event series will feature a panel discussion about the economic force of diversity, equity and inclusion, and an awards ceremony for exemplary community leaders. Stacie Clayton is the director of Wayne State’s Division of Government and Community Affairs. She says Wayne State wants to remind people what King’s speech and march were all about. “Our focus is on economics and social justice. We want to make sure that our students understand their role in the economy, specifically Detroit’s economy, and to understand how there are opportunities. While most people know [Dr. King’s] ‘I Have a Dream’ speech as a rallying call for equality, it also was a rallying call for economic equality. And part of that comes with jobs and employment.” The Economics of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Panel Discussion will take place at the Industry Innovation Center Auditorium on Thursday, Jan. 12 at 5 p.m. Participants are asked to RSVP in advance as seating is limited. Randy D. Williams, founder and president of Talley & Twine, the largest Black-owned watch company in the country, will also give a keynote address about connecting social justice to economic growth at the Mike Ilitch School of Business Lear Auditorium on Friday, Jan. 13. Participants can also RSVP to this address online.

Wayne State University is leading a project, called Recovering from Expected Flooding Under Residential Buildings (REFURB), which will use technology to improve recovery from and preparation for ongoing flooding in homes in eastside Detroit neighborhoods. The research team will focus on sewer systems that are undersized and poorly maintained. “Our focus will be in neighborhoods with older homes connected to again sewer systems that are undersized and poorly maintained due to racially-driven development policy and investment decisions,” said Richard Smith, REFURB principal investigator and associate dean for research and professor in the School of Social Work. The grant comes from the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as part of the Civic Innovation Challenge. Researchers will gather data, research what support is needed and develop systems to put in place for Detroiters. 

Saturday night Downtown Detroit was full of the holiday spirit and bright lights at the 48th annual Noel Night. The event was the first one since 2020 due to the pandemic and this year there was increased security to ensure a peaceful night. Detroit Police Commander Melissa Gardner says the increased security included four difference police agencies: Detroit Police, the Wayne County Reserves, Wayne State Police, and a private off-duty police force called Blue Line Protection.

By Sarah Grimmer Activists in Detroit have called for a third-party mental health response team. Dr. Gerald Sheiner, a psychiatrist at Sinai-Grace Hospital and professor at Wayne State University, agrees. “Mental health care is at a crisis state in our city and across the country,” Sheiner said. Dr. Sheiner responds to mental health patients at the hospital and says when those patients are having their worst moments, the presence of weapons or intimidating personnel often makes the situation worse. “Patients who experience those type of difficulties are often frightened and think that everyone else is out to do them harm,” he said. “Mental health professionals are the best fit personnel to respond to mental health crisis, but mental health professionals are not available.” With a lack of a mental health response team, Detroit police have been responding to the uptick in mental health calls. The department is responding to an average of 64 mental health runs per day, more than three times as many as in 2020. “64 calls a day is beyond the ability of emergency services to care for in many instances,’ said Sheiner. DPD has been partnering with the Detroit Wayne Integrated Crisis Intervention Team for training and are working with activists and elected officials to create a non-police response program to address non-violent mental health calls. “I think that a straight up mental health response presents someone to intervene who is less threatening to a patient and someone who intervenes who has more experience dealing with a patient in crisis,” said Sheiner.