Wayne State University


Wayne State University is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-largest university with nearly 24,000 graduate and undergraduate students. Wayne State University, along with Michigan State University, Michigan Technological University, and the University of Michigan, constitute Michigan's University Research Corridor. Wayne State is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".
Wayne State's main campus comprises 203 acres linking more than 100 education and research buildings. It also has three satellite campuses in Macomb and Wayne counties. The Wayne State Warriors compete in the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

History

Wayne State University was established in 1868 as the Detroit Medical College by five returning Civil War veterans. The college charter from 1868 was signed by founder Theodore Andrews McGraw, M.D., a University of Michigan graduate. In 1885, the Detroit College of Medicine merged with its competitor, the Michigan College of Medicine and they consolidated buildings. After the reorganization, McGraw became the first president and dean. The institutions evolved into the Wayne State University School of Medicine.
In 1881, the Detroit Normal Training School for Teachers was established by the Detroit Board of Education. In 1920, after several relocations to larger quarters, the school became the Detroit Teachers College. The Board of Education voted in 1924 to make the college a part of the new College of the City of Detroit. Eventually it became the Wayne State University College of Education.
In 1917, the Detroit Board of Education founded the Detroit Junior College and would make Detroit Central High School's Old Main Hall its campus. Detroit's College of Pharmacy and the Detroit Teachers College were added to the campus in 1924, and were organized into the College of the City of Detroit. The original junior college became the College of Liberal Arts. The first bachelor's degrees were awarded in 1925. The College of Liberal Arts of the College of the City of Detroit became the Wayne State University College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Recognizing the need for a good law school, a group of lawyers, including Allan Campbell, the school's founding dean, established Detroit City Law School in 1927 as part of the College of the City of Detroit. Originally structured as a part-time evening program, the school's first class graduated with the bachelor of laws degree in 1928 and achieved full American Bar Association accreditation in 1939. The school became Wayne State University Law School.
In 1933, the Detroit Board of Education voted to unify its colleges into a university. In January 1934, that institution was officially named Wayne University, taking its name from Wayne County, which was itself named after Revolutionary War Major-General Anthony Wayne. Wayne University added a School of Social Work in 1935, and the School of Business Administration in 1946. Wayne University was renamed Wayne State University in 1956 and the institution became mandated by an amendment to the Michigan Constitution in 1959. The Wayne State University Board of Governors created the Institute of Gerontology in 1965 in response to a State of Michigan mandate. The institute's primary mission in that era was to engage in research, education and service in the field of aging. Wayne State University in 1973 added the College of Lifelong Learning. In 1985, the School of Fine and the Performing Arts, and the College of Urban, Labor and Metropolitan Affairs further grew the university.
In the early 21st century, WSU constructed the Integrative Biosciences Center, a facility for interdisciplinary work in the biosciences. More than 500 researchers, staff and principal investigators work out of the building, which opened in 2016. In 2013, M. Roy Wilson became Wayne State's 12th president. In 2018, the new Mike Ilitch School of Business facility opened in The District Detroit.

Campus

Wayne State's main campus in Detroit encompasses of landscaped walkways and gathering spots linking over 100 education and research buildings. The campus is urban and features many architecturally significant buildings, including the University Auditorium (formerly the Helen L. DeRoy Auditorium the Education Building, the Maccabees Building, Old Main, McGregor Memorial Conference Center, Chatsworth Suites, IBio, STEM Innovation Learning Center, M. Roy Wilson State Hall, Hilberry Gateway and the Gretchen Valade Jazz Center. Many buildings have been designed by notable architects such as Albert Kahn and Minoru Yamasaki.
Wayne State University is located in Midtown Detroit near many notable institutions and attractions. The Cass Corridor is one of the university's notable surroundings. Many events have taken place on or near the campus as a result of its unique location.

Tom Adams Field

Tom Adams Field is a 6,000-seat football stadium located on the campus. It is primarily used for Wayne State Warriors football of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, a Division II conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
The field was named after Thomas B. Adams, a 1944 graduate and football and track athlete who later served on as a board member at WSU. Due to his athletic, military and business achievements, the Wayne State football field was named in honor of him in 2003. A new 35-foot video board was installed in August 2015. The eight-lane Lowell Blanchard Track, located in the stadium, was first installed in 2006. Mondo surfacing was added to the track in 2011.

Wayne State Fieldhouse

The Wayne State Fieldhouse, a 70,000-square-foot arena with seating for 3,000 fans, opened in October 2021. The arena is home to Wayne State's basketball teams as well as the Detroit Pistons' G League team, the Motor City Cruise.

TechTown

In 2000, Wayne State, Henry Ford Health and General Motors Co. launched TechTown, a business incubator that works with technology startups and entrepreneurs in Detroit.

Satellite campuses

Wayne State has three satellite campuses in the Metro Detroit area. The locations are:
The university is governed by a Board of Governors consisting of eight members elected by Michigan voters for eight-year terms. Board of Governor members serve without compensation. The board elects the university president. The student body government is headed by a Student Senate. Some colleges of the university have their own Student Senate, which reports back to the main Student Senate. The Law School has its own Student Board of Governors.

Presidents

The following is a list of the presidents of the university since its establishment.
No.NameTenure
1Frank Cody1933–1942
2Warren E. Bow1942–1945
3David D. Henry1945–1952
4Clarence B. Hilberry1952–1965
5William R. Keast1965–1971
6George E. Gullen Jr.1971–1978
7Thomas N. Bonner1978–1982
8David Adamany1982–1997
9Irvin D. Reid1997–2008
10Jay Noren2008–2011
11Allan Gilmour2011–2013
12M. Roy Wilson2013–2023
13Kimberly Andrews Espy2023–2025
Richard A. Bierschbach 2025-present

Academics

Wayne State's academic offerings are divided among 13 schools and colleges: the Mike Ilitch School of Business, the College of Education, the College of Engineering; the College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts; the Graduate School, the Law School, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the School of Information Sciences, the School of Medicine, the College of Nursing, the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, the Irvin D. Reid Honors College, and the School of Social Work. Fall 2024 enrollment for the university consisted of 23,964 students; freshman enrollment was approximately 4,700, including nearly 3,100 first-year, first time in any college students, a 2% increase over the fall 2023 class.
Wayne State offers approximately 375 undergraduate, postgraduate, specialist and certificate programs in 13 schools and colleges. Its most popular undergraduate majors by 2024 graduates were:
  • Psychology
  • Business administration
  • Social work
  • Medicine
  • Public health
  • Computer science
  • Marketing
  • Management
  • Finance
  • Global supply chain management

    Schools and colleges

The Mike Ilitch School of Business offers undergraduate degrees and graduate degrees, including the M.B.A. and M.S. as well as a Ph.D. The college also offers undergraduate and graduate certificates. The programs are accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Established in 1986, the College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts serves over 1,500 students majoring in 14 undergraduate programs and 12 graduate programs. Many programs are nationally accredited.
The American Library Association first accredited the master of library and information science in 1967. The MLIS is available online with select classes also offered on campus. In September 2017, the school became a member of the iSchool Consortium and added a master of science in information management.
Founded in 1868, the Wayne State University School of Medicine enrolls more than 1,500 students in its medical, doctoral, M.D./Ph.D., and master’s programs. The school's research emphasizes neurosciences, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity, and psychiatry and addiction research. One of the school's major assets is the Richard J. Mazurek, M.D., Medical Education Commons, which was designed specifically for students and houses classrooms, student services divisions, the medical library and the Kado Family Clinical Skills Center, a sophisticated patient simulation center.