Dear Wayne State community,

Since our founding as a medical college in 1868, health care has been a core part of Wayne State University’s identity. That legacy continues through the care we provide and the future we help shape. It’s an effort that takes our entire campus community, across our schools and colleges. It involves not only doctors and researchers but our students, business partners, communicators, social workers and more. This issue of Wayne State magazine highlights how we advance public health through care, research and education across Detroit, Michigan and beyond.

This year, we welcomed Dr. Bernard Costello as our new senior vice president for health affairs. His leadership has brought together our schools of medicine, nursing and pharmacy into a unified, interdisciplinary force for education, care and discovery. You’ll read about Dr. Costello’s vision and how new academic programs, hands-on learning, and major investments such as the Health Sciences Research Building and Michigan’s newest school of public health help transform our communities.

Wayne State’s impact is felt in our local hospitals and health systems and spans neighborhood clinics and statewide platforms, from embedded care at the Taylor Street Primary Care Clinic to the PHOENIX data system, which redefines how we address the root causes of poor health outcomes. This issue explores how both play vital roles in allowing us to serve our communities, whether just blocks from campus or in neighborhoods across the state.

We remain innovative in our approach to health care. Our student-run clinics give future health professionals the opportunity to serve diverse populations — providing diabetes education, primary care and more — while preparing for careers that strengthen Michigan’s health care workforce. And our research drives real-world impact, from Qurgen, a biotechnology startup now leading clinical trials for a first-of-its-kind cancer therapy, to our partnership with the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, a national leader in clinical trials and cancer care for underserved communities.

It’s a moment of real momentum at Wayne State. This fall we welcomed more than 24,000 students back to campus, continuing an upward trajectory that puts us on track for our third consecutive year of enrollment growth. We also announced our Grand Challenges initiative, which identifies four of the most pressing issues facing our world to guide Wayne State research, discovery and innovation. Combined with national recognition — including recently maintaining our top 100 status in U.S. News & World Report’s ranking of public universities — and the achievements of our students and faculty, we’re building on our strengths and looking ahead with confidence. You’ll read about this proud legacy, and those carrying it forward, throughout this issue. Thank you for doing and supporting the work that makes this vision possible.

With Warrior pride,

Richard A. Bierschbach
Interim President
Wayne State University