Since becoming the 12th president of Wayne State University (WSU) on Aug. 1, 2013, Dr. M. Roy Wilson has been on a successful mission to elevate the urban institution to take its rightful place as a local, national, and international leader across the broad sectors of higher education. However, in early Aug. 2022, Wilson announced that he was stepping down from his top university position when his contract expired on July 31, 2023.
“I feel that the time is right for a transition in leadership at the University,” Wilson told the Michigan Chronicle. “I had numerous conversations with family, friends, and colleagues before making my decision not to renew my contract. While there’s more that I can do as president, I realized that after almost ten years, I’ve accomplished most of the goals that are important to the University and its growth.”
Among the many accomplishments credited to Wilson include guiding Wayne State to achieve the nation’s “most-improved graduation rate” – a 21-point improvement – between the years 2012 to 2018. In the Fall of 2020, the University admitted its largest incoming class ever, a four percent increase over the prior year. Among Black students, the graduation rate at WSU has risen from 7% when Wilson came aboard as president to a current 40% – and is climbing.
In addition, Wilson is the architect that created the Heart of Detroit Tuition Pledge Program, a pioneering initiative at Wayne that offers free tuition to students graduating from Detroit high schools or Detroit residents earning a high school diploma.
“The Heart of Detroit Tuition Pledge is our commitment that swings our campus doors wide open to the community we call home,” Wilson said when the program launched in the fall of 2020. “It is one of many programs that cements our status as a university committed to providing access to excellence. We will never forget about our own, where our roots are deepest, right here in the city of Detroit.”
Wilson is also the driving force behind “Warrior Way Back,” a program designed to help former WSU students who left without graduating return to the university to earn a college degree. And there have been many construction projects started and completed under Wilson’s presidency. Projects on their way to completion are Wayne State’s Hilberry Gateway, the future performance home for dance, music, and dance majors and programs. It will house two state-of-the-art theatres: a production facility and the Gretchen Valade Jazz Center.
In addition, Wayne State School of Medicine and the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute recently received $100 million from the State Legislature to build two new structures to further the school’s medical education and research. The total price tag for the construction is estimated to reach $300 million when completed. Campus beautification efforts have included the $26.5 million renovation of the Student Center Building and the redesigned green space surrounding Fountain Court.
During the current COVID-19 pandemic, Wilson has been lauded for his leadership role guiding the University through uncharted territory.
“We were one of the only universities in the country that did not contribute to community spread,” said Wilson, a medical doctor, epidemiologist, and was appointed by Gov. Whitmer to serve on the Michigan Coronavirus Task Force on Racial Disparities, now in its third year. “We are very proud of that, especially being an urban university in Detroit, one of the most populated cities with African American residents. Most universities around the country contributed to COVID spread in the community.”
While it appears that Wilson’s almost decade tenure as Wayne State’s president has been smooth sailing, he talked candidly about the times of navigating through choppy waters.
“In 2017 and 2018, there was much turmoil with Wayne State’s Board,” said Wilson, who described a divided board where some members wanted to fire him as president. “I had opportunities to leave at the time to go to other universities because most knew about the board situation. But I made the decision that I wasn’t going to leave at that time because, quite frankly, I didn’t want it said that certain members of the board ran me out of town. I felt it was important for me to pick the time to leave and maintain my reputation.”
And now that Wilson has announced his departure from Wayne State next July, amid a current good relationship with the school’s board members, he spoke openly about what’s next for him.
“I’m not leaving Detroit; this city is my home now,” Wilson said. “However, when my contract expires on July 31, 2023, I will take a sabbatical and undergo some retraining in my specialty areas of ophthalmology and glaucoma. I will then return from sabbatical, join the faculty, and help those in the Kresge Eye Institute Residency Program.”
Wilson added, “With my national connections, I feel that I could really be of service to them in terms of navigating the academic ladder and mentoring people and doing other things that are important to me that I’ve enjoyed in the past,” he said. “Not renewing my contract at Wayne State will give me time to contribute in other ways. After ten years, even though there’s more to be done there, my contributions can be directed in different ways.”