The 2022 news cycle was dominated by stories related to the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic — from the omicron variant and vaccine boosters to ongoing supply chain disruptions and inflation — and the gradual return to normalcy and social gatherings. On campus, headlines were happier as the Wayne State community navigated a hybrid environment and celebrated a return to many university traditions, while graduation rates continued to soar through continued student success initiatives. WSU welcomed new leadership and looked ahead with its next strategic plan.  

A lot has changed since Jennifer Oles first stepped on Wayne State’s campus in 2002. One of the biggest changes? Anything less than an A is no longer acceptable. That’s because Oles is now a mother to four children who monitor her grades and won’t accept anything less. “It’s actually scary because in the past, I could get a B and my parents didn’t really care; they let me do my own thing,” Oles said. “But now, my children are checking my grades on a daily basis. So, when they see an A-minus, it’s like, ‘Mom, you need 100%.’ They are checking on me like I check on them. It’s a challenge as a mom to set a good example.”

Denise Ford admits that she doesn’t know the name of every player on the current Detroit Lions roster. She’s never held season tickets. As far as Ford is concerned, no one roots harder, cheers more sincerely or lives more passionately for her city’s pro football franchise than she does. In her mind, she’s the team’s No. 1 fan.  

When Terrell Topps walked out of Michigan’s Deerfield Correctional Center a free man 18 years ago, he vowed he’d never go back to prison. These days, however, Topps finds himself inside a prison nearly once a week. As one of the people helming Wayne State’s Educational Transition Coordination (ETC) program, Topps uses his past experiences behind bars as well as his education — which includes a master’s in social work from Wayne State — to help currently incarcerated men and women enroll in college upon their release.

The Mellon Foundation awarded a $6 million grant to Wayne State University to launch a cluster hire program that will recruit and hire 30 new humanities faculty and create the Detroit Center for Black Studies. The grant advances Wayne State’s work to build a more inclusive and equitable university by prioritizing faculty and research centered on the Black experience.