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| Dear colleagues, The faculty and staff at Wayne State University consistently deliver excellent work, but every once in a while they achieve nothing short of the extraordinary. This is why I write to you today. You may have read that the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) named Wayne State University the winner of the prestigious 2018 Degree Completion Award. This award recognizes our innovative work to markedly boost student success and graduation outcomes. These gains come from years of focused, hard work and an investment of more than $10 million. This includes hiring academic advisors, improving curriculum and teaching, bolstering support for underprepared students, and strengthening financial aid. As a result of our student success initiatives, our graduation rate has climbed from 26 to 47 percent over the course of six years. This increase is exceptional — and we believe it is unprecedented. It is difficult to express how proud I am of all that Wayne State has achieved. Many, many employees poured hundreds of hours into providing comprehensive support for every student. They have my deepest gratitude. But I want to give a special thanks to Senior Associate Provost for Student Success Monica Brockmeyer, Provost Keith Whitfield and former Provost Margaret Winters for their vision, their leadership and their dedication to ensuring that every Warrior succeeds. While we are heartened by this recognition by the APLU, we are doubly inspired to continue our hard work to build a culture of student success here on campus. Thank you for your commitment to our shared mission. Regards,
M. Roy Wilson |
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