2002

The National Institutes of Health’s Perinatology Research Branch (PRB) debuts at the Wayne State University School of Medicine and Detroit Medical Center. Discoveries made by WSU researchers at the PRB have contributed to clinical advances in maternal-fetal medicine around the world. #wsu150

1900s

Students from the Detroit College of Medicine, a predecessor of Wayne State, observe a procedure at St. Mary’s Hospital. This was one of several training hospitals in Detroit where students gained experience. #wsu150

1953

1949

1964

1956

1955

1961

1957

1927

1960s

1943

Wayne University purchases the Michigan College of Mortuary Science and renames it the Department of Mortuary Science. #wsu150

1927

1953

1998

1958

Daily Collegian News Editor Ralph Hummel, Copy Editor Iris Erlich and Editor-in-Chief John Hushen review the latest edition of the newspaper. #wsu150

1950s

Cheerleaders watch the homecoming game from the sidelines. #wsu150

1949

The tennis squad is all smiles for the team photo. #wsu150

1967

Students celebrate fall with a spirited hay pile fight. #wsu150

1953

Gamma Delta’s elaborate dragon float for Homecoming nabs the first-place prize for best design. #wsu150

1940s

Glenn Wilcox presents nurse Betty Schafets with money raised by Wayne University students to benefit the “Share a Chair” campaign. The funds, which were raised at the annual Star and Tartar Review, supported 11 wheelchairs for the war effort. #wsu150

1998

Members of the baseball team show off their new banner commemorating their GLIAC championship win. #wsu150

1956

Homecoming Committee members Monte Geralds, Artie Fields, Belinda Blanchard and May Reid prepare for the big event. #wsu150

1940s

Advertising fraternity Alpha Delta Sigma initiates new pledges with bright red ties emblazoned with ADS. #wsu150

1955

Students dress as ice cubes for their “Wayne Champagne” homecoming float. #wsu150

1910

1952

1950s

1995

1950s

Students chill in the Mackenzie Union. #wsu150

1950s

1950s:

1935

George Gembis gives it his all during football practice while his brother, Head Coach "Dynamite Joe" Gembis, looks on. #wsu150

1954

1959

1927

1950s

ROTC members head into Wayne University’s Armory. #wsu150

1966

1957

1958

1971

1966

1961

1949

1972

1936

Wayne University students hold a peace strike in Old Main. #wsu150

1963

1978

1938

1970

1937

1972

1978

1929

1942

Students from Wayne University, University of Michigan and Michigan State University leave together for aviation training in the United States Army Air Forces. #wsu150

1961

Workers update the sign on Wayne State’s Student Center to reflect its new name, Mackenzie Hall, in honor of founding president David Mackenzie. #wsu150

1940s

Two sets of sisters — Jackie and Karol Kurkie, and Eileen and Raoma Bayless — participate in the university marching band as majorettes. #wsu150

2001

Wayne State breaks ground on the new Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences building. #wsu150

1973

Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity members Dan Kildrowski and Paul Silber paint a basement as part of a community service project. #wsu150

1959

Senior students perform during the Aesculapian Frolic. Highlights from the College of Medicine’s lampoon event included a My Fair Lady-inspired performance and a skit about the Roman underworld. #wsu150

2000

George Stephanopoulos and the Good Morning America crew report live from Wayne State’s campus. #wsu150

1970s

This photograph offers a glimpse of campus at Cass and Warren Avenues. #wsu150

1935

1999

The university community celebrates the start of a new school year during Convocation. #wsu150

2000

1970s

The Wayne State Men’s Glee Club performs Tre Mandskormotetter. #wsu150

1963

This image shows the center of campus prior to the closing of Second Avenue to vehicular traffic. The parking lot is where the Student Center Building now stands. #wsu150

1950s

Medical students calculate a fellow student’s basal metabolism by measuring his oxygen consumption. #wsu150

1948

Wayne University and Yale University face off on the basketball court. #wsu150

1940s

Members of the Art Education Club perform for Wayne State students. #wsu150

1950s

Students purchase tickets (available at a staggering price of $1.65) for the General Motors Engineers’ Ball. #wsu150

1967

Students take advantage of balmy weather with an outdoor study session. #wsu150

1960

Alumna Jeanne Omelenchuk competes in her first Olympics. Omelenchuk is the only woman to hold a spot on three Olympic speedskating teams (1960, 1968 and 1972). She won 16 national titles — more than any other individual in the history of the sport. #wsu150

1952

Students work in the publishing house of The Daily Collegian to assemble the latest edition of the student newspaper, which was a predecessor of The South End. #wsu150

1950s

School of Social Work faculty member Eliz Werdling accompanies students Laura Hardy and Alex Zaphiris to Camp Tamarack for a hiking and camping trip. #wsu150

1950s

The Hellenic Student Society performs a traditional Greek dance during Hellenic Night. #wsu150

1925

1965

1950s

1947

1913

Theodore A. McGraw retires from the Detroit College of Medicine. McGraw was one of five Civil War physicians who originally founded the college, a predecessor of Wayne State. #wsu150

1967

Eager for new office space, chemistry faculty Calvin Stevens and David Boltz help clear room for the construction of the Chemistry Building and Science Library, which is now the Science and Engineering Library. #wsu150

2002

1884

1997

1896

The Detroit College of Medicine, a predecessor of Wayne State University’s School of Medicine, sustains a fire. The building was repaired and went on to house the college until 1954. #wsu150

1976

Alumnus Robert Hayden is named U.S. Poet Laureate, becoming the first African American to hold the distinguished title. #wsu150

1920s

Students climb a pole in one of many physical challenges during the annual “Frosh-Soph Games.” #wsu150

1992

Jihad Mustapha graduates from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Called “the leg saver,” Mustapha is known for his groundbreaking work with peripheral vascular disease. He holds more than 30 patents for alternative treatments he’s created to prevent limb amputation. #wsu150

1940

Psychoanalyst Selma Fraiberg earns a master’s in social work from Wayne University. Fraiberg went on to be recognized as a pioneer in the field of infant mental health. #wsu150

1950s

1960s

A student examines a rock in a geology lab. #wsu150

1998

Alumnus Garth Fagan earns the Tony Award for Best Choreography in the Broadway musical The Lion King. #wsu150

1945

2009

Alumna Rashida Tlaib becomes the first Muslim-American woman to serve in the Michigan legislature, and the second Muslim woman in the nation to be elected to a state legislature. #wsu150.

1941

Hugh Downs graduates from City College, a predecessor of Wayne State. Downs would go on to be the long-running anchor of the television news program 20/20. #wsu150

1973

1958

2013

1943

1969

Ph.D. student Kenneth Honn works with Professor Walter Chavin to develop a 25,000-gallon “artificial ocean” to study the horn shark and the nurse shark. Their ocean was built at 84 Hancock Street and held 40 sharks. Today, Honn is a professor at the Wayne State University School of Medicine. #wsu150

1979

Alumnus Emmett Leith is awarded the National Medal of Science for his work in holography — uncovering the principles of the hologram and improving its use. #wsu150

1946

1917

1951

1966

1976

Actor S. Epatha Merkerson graduates from Wayne State. Merkerson has won a Golden Globe, an Emmy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, two Obie Awards and four NAACP Image Awards. #wsu150

1994

Wayne State University Press moves to its current location in the Leonard N. Simons Building at 4809 Woodward Avenue. #wsu150

1977

David Mackenzie House serves as the Campus Treasure Shop, an on-campus resale boutique. The historic Queen Anne revival-style house has had a variety of uses throughout its 123-year history. #wsu150

1973

1965

Students attend a debate on the Vietnam War on campus. #wsu150

1958

Students socialize in their room at Webster Hall, Wayne University’s first dormitory. #wsu150

1972

2010s

The Wayne State University Police Department dispatches mounted police officers to help the crowds at the Detroit Fireworks. #wsu150

1920s

Cam Cunningham is captain of the football, basketball and track teams of the Detroit Junior College, a predecessor of Wayne State. #wsu150

1932

Broadway and radio performer Irene Day reads her alma mater’s newspaper, The Detroit Collegian, which is known today as @TheSouthEndWSU. #wsu150

1969

The College of Nursing charters the Center for Health Research, which is now the Office of Health Research. The center was the first of its kind to be affiliated with an educational institution.

1958

Wayne State’s student section of the American Rocket Society receives its charter. Professor Arthur Locke, chair of the university’s aeronautical engineering department, served as the group’s advisor.

1960

Minoru Yamasaki and Associates design Wayne State’s College of Education Building. The architectural concept relied on Yamasaki’s signature geometric patterning, as shown in this floorplan.

1940s

Polish refugee soldiers hum old folk tunes while a student dictates the music for a Polish folklore project. 

1957

Alumni athletes from 1917-1923 gather for a reunion.

1940s

A group of Tartars enjoys a university dance. 

1999

The Filipino Student Society sets up its food booth during Wayne State’s 29th annual International Student Fair.

1946

Students work on an engine in the engineering lab.

1935

Wayne University students participate in a dance class.

1917

The Detroit College of Medicine and Surgery is presented with the Red Cross flag for its role in staffing 36th General Hospital during World War I.

1976

Baseball players Rex Ledbetter and Tim Flannery receive Academic All-American plaques. 

1938

The debate squad poses for a photo.

1966

Wayne State students study in their dorm room.

1969

Local children review literature during an on-campus event called “Dance Power.” 

1950s

Construction begins on an addition to Old Main.

1959

To help fight muscular dystrophy, the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity fulfills a fundraising challenge to pack 51 Wayne State students in a 1959 DeSoto Fireflite.

1960

1939

The Tartar prince and princesses, who traditionally led the university band, pose for a photo in their costumes. #wsu150

1923

Students participate in the "Frosh-Soph Games." #wsu150

1923

Student actors pose for a photo to promote their production of the musical Sweethearts. #wsu150

1951

1956

1955

The Music Building of Community Arts Center is completed. #wsu150

1950

1929

"Hymn to Wayne" is written by Nicholas Stanley Oates.

1960

The Labor History Archives at Wayne State University is founded. Now the Walter P. Reuther Library of Labor and Urban Affairs, it is the largest labor archive in North America with more than 75,000 linear feet of archival holdings. #wsu150

1999

The Warriors replace the Tartars as Wayne State's mascot. #wsu150

1956

The McGregor Memorial Conference Center groundbreaking takes place. #wsu150

1959

1953

Members of the Wayne University track team start out of the blocks. #wsu150

2018

There are 591 All-American athletes in Wayne State history. More than half of those athletes received this honor in the past ten years. #wsu150

1934

Students present Dean of Students Joseph Selden with pins, stickers and varsity letters to celebrate the university’s new name, Wayne University. #wsu150

1942

A student hits his “opponent” during football practice. #wsu150

1959

Alumni House is completed. #wsu150

1944

Wayne University creates the Office of Veteran Affairs. #wsu150

1932

Wayne University’s undefeated cross country team holds hands while competing in a race. #wsu150

1950s

Dormitory students sell “the best hot dogs in town” at a campus food tent. #wsu150

1949

Students create a window display at Crowley’s Department Store. Wayne University Day at Crowley’s provided advertising students with real-world experience in retail. #wsu150

1955

Clarence Straughn is named MVP of the Wayne University basketball team and earns the Fred M. Fisher Memorial Award. #wsu150

1940s

Students volunteer to sell bonds on campus as a fundraiser for World War II. #wsu150

1952

The Men’s Glee Club poses for a portrait. The club was founded in 1945 by Professor Emeritus Harry M. Langsford, who directed the award-winning ensemble for more than 45 years. #wsu150

1957

The Wayne State University rowing team practices on the Detroit River. #wsu150

1948

During Commencement, graduates march down Putnam Street with the Wayne University marching band. #wsu150

1935

Wayne University’s alumni association is formed. #wsu150

1945

Wayne University becomes the first American college to offer a B.S.N. The degree covers nursing fundamentals, medical-surgical, maternity, pediatric, psychiatric, public health, principles and methods of teaching, and fundamentals of administration. #wsu150

1960s

Students and faculty “casually” pose for a promotional photo. #wsu150

1963

Old Main’s entrance is shown in full bloom. #wsu150

1990s

Mechanical engineering students test out their human-powered vehicle. #wsu150

1955

The master of science in nursing program is established. #wsu150

2003

The year I was born. I'm 15 this year! #wsu150

1962

Wayne State students and faculty prepare for an open house event. #wsu150

1939

English professors Emlyn Gardner and Thelma James create the Folklore Archive, the oldest and largest record of urban folk traditions in the United States. #wsu150

1935

Students and faculty work in a Wayne University speech lab. #wsu150

2000

Wayne State University, Henry Ford Health System and General Motors launch TechTown to support tech-based spinoffs of WSU. Since then, the business incubator has served more than 1,000 companies. #wsu150
 

1924

The graduating class of the Detroit Teachers College, a predecessor of Wayne State University’s College of Education, celebrates at the headquarters of the Women’s Benefit Association in Port Huron.

1950s

Chemical engineering faculty members prepare for an upcoming presentation.

1960s

Students leave Mackenzie Hall, Wayne State’s original student center.

1970s 

Students take their final exams in the College of Engineering.
 

1952 

An architectural rendering of the new Community Arts Building.
 

1940s

Students participate in a music class.
 

1959

Wayne State removes the last of the World War II barracks from campus. They had been used as temporary classroom space during the post-war influx of students.
 

1946

Wayne University breaks ground on State Hall. #wsu150
 

1961

Wayne State purchases the First Church of Christ, Scientist and converts it into the Hilberry Theatre, the nation’s first and now longest-running graduate repertory theatre. #wsu150
 

1954

Wayne University students perform Oedipus Rex. At center stage is Grammy Award-winning alumnus George Shirley.

1920s

Students from the College of the City of Detroit participate in a tug-of-war during freshman class rush, which was held on Belle Isle throughout the 1920s and ’30s.
 

1988

Wayne State begins construction on the Faculty/Administration Building. Now commonly known as FAB, it was completed in 1990. 
 

1970s

Students relax and play outside the Student Center Building. Today, this is where the Mort Harris Recreation and Fitness Center stands.

2010

Wayne State is the first university in the nation to offer an electric-drive vehicle engineering program.
 

1928

Elinore Batie earns a degree in chemical engineering, making her the first female graduate in the College of Engineering.

2004

Wayne State hosts a FIRST Robotics Competition on campus for local high school teams. 

1991

The former student center, David Mackenzie Hall, is demolished by implosion.

1960

Wayne State’s photography motion picture department shows off its skills.

1957

Students enjoy a quick lunch on the stairs of Old Main.

1950s

Choir students practice Handel’s Messiah.

1935

Students attend art class in Old Main.

1940s

A row of residential buildings on Warren Avenue serves as a hub for Wayne University laboratories and classrooms. The arrows show the Administration Building, Home Economics Building, Plastics Laboratory and the Building and Grounds Department.

1997

Following a three-year, $41.8 million renovation, Wayne State debuts the new-and-improved Old Main.

1949

The cafeteria in Wayne University’s student center, Webster Hall, opens.

1939

Biology students get a closer look as they inspect skeletons.

1959

Following a statewide election, the first Board of Governors is sworn in at Wayne State University.

1934

The obsolete clock in Old Main’s tower is replaced by an electrically driven No. 4 Telechron clock. #wsu150
 

1886

Angus McLean graduates from the Detroit College of Medicine. During World War I, he organized Base Hospital 17 with staff from Harper Hospital.

1990s

Civil engineering students survey metro Detroit roads for infrastructure research. 

1960s

The Wayne State Tolerance Curve is used to establish the head injury criterion for Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. 

1989

Bruce White constructs the Helios Trail, a sculpture that stands outside Wayne State’s College of Engineering.

1930s

Students attend a geology lecture.

1937

The men’s fencing team is established.

1970

College of Engineering students show off their vehicle for the Clean Air Car Race. The 1970 team — the first to win a national competition for Wayne State — introduced an emission control system design that’s now produced in virtually every car sold in the United States. 

1975

The Wayne State Geology Field Camp visits the Top of the World Bar in Montana’s Beartooth Mountains. 

1965

Students at the Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute speak with honorary trustee and world-renowned cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead.

1948

Wayne University receives World War II surplus machinery — including a Boeing airplane — from the Engineering, Science and Management War Training program.

1949

A student reviews the “simplified appointment system” for class registration. 

1963

Old Main is in full bloom during the spring.

1950s

A researcher stands in the Mechanical Engineering Constant Temperature Room. 

1900

This picture shows the 1900 class of the Detroit College of Medicine, a predecessor of the Wayne State School of Medicine. 

1918

Kelly green and “old gold” are adopted as the school colors of Detroit Junior College, a predecessor of Wayne State.

1945

A general chemistry class meets in Old Main.

1990s

The Formula SAE Warrior Racing team goes to great lengths to test its machinery. 

1900

Dr. Burt Shurly and Dr. Augustus Ives teach a physiology class.

1918

Detroit Junior College publishes the first edition of its student newspaper, The Collegian. This picture shows the staff in 1924. The Collegian was later replaced by @TheSouthEnd in 1967. #wsu150
 

1950s

Students declare their affinity for shorts during the 1950s

1935

Students run a test (possibly on a kymograph or polygraph) in psychology class. Today, our psychology department is ranked among the top 100 in the nation by U.S. News and World Report. 

1940s

During the 1940s, a growing student body led to crowded conditions in buildings such as Mackenzie Hall (pictured). This resulted in campus expansion in the early 1950s.

1947

Veteran enrollment peaks at 7,685 students — roughly 40 percent of the student population.

1967

Marion Barnhart, Ph.D., is the first woman to become a professor at the Wayne State University School of Medicine.

1970s

During the 1970s, Wayne State faculty member Manuel Madayag pioneers a thinner, less invasive biopsy needle that becomes known as the Madayag needle. 

1971

Theatre students embark on a two-month U.S.O. tour of American bases in Germany, marking the fourth time that Wayne State students were selected to take plays abroad. #wsu150
 

1966

Wayne State establishes its Department of Public Safety, which is staffed by deputized and armed police officers.
 

1959

The Richard Cohn Building is completed to serve as the home of the College of Nursing. 

1948

The university awards the first doctoral degree in biochemistry.

2005

Alumnus William O’Neill, M.D., is the first in the country to perform an aortic valve replacement through a catheter. A leader in interventional cardiology, Dr. O’Neill pioneered the use of angioplasty to treat heart attacks.

1961

Wayne State University purchases Chatsworth Tower and Chatsworth Annex. Built in 1928, Chatsworth Tower is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 

1953

The General Library is completed. Later renamed G. Flint Purdy Library, it is now part of Purdy/Kresge Library. 

1952

Radio station WDET is donated to Wayne University by the UAW. 

1969

The Student Center is completed.

2009

Wayne State’s African Democracy Project (ADP) is founded by FOCIS in collaboration with Wayne State Honors and the Journalism Institute for Media Diversity. The ADP has traveled to countries including Mozambique, Botswana, Ghana and Liberia.

1928

The College of Pharmacy is founded.

2011

The Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights opens at WSU to study and support the civil rights of underrepresented communities in urban areas. 

1927

Tartars are adopted as the school mascot of City College, a predecessor of Wayne State. 

1962

Wayne State signs contracts with Dillard and Tuskegee universities that pave the way for partnerships to prepare African American nursing faculty.  go.wayne.edu/wsu150 #wsu150 #blackhistorymonth Image courtesy of @ReutherLibrary.
 

 1949

The Wayne Law Moot Court is founded to help students hone their written and oral advocacy skills. 

1949

Wayne University becomes the second college in the country to install and run its own lithograph shop. The Student Activities Division funded the business, which was known as the University Print Shop. #wsu150
 

1914

This 1914 drawing depicts the J4 Quartette, a musical group comprised of students from the Detroit College of Medicine and Surgery, a predecessor of the Wayne State University School of Medicine. #wsu150
 

1957

The mobile newsreel unit of the university’s TV station, WTVS-TV Channel 56, films a segment in 1957. 

1973

As part of a seminar on death and disease in ancient Egypt, School of Medicine researchers perform an autopsy on Pum II, a mummy on loan from the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

2017

Alumni Mary and @Paulglantz, who met during a class at Wayne State, participate in the launch of the #warriorstrong campaign. 
 

2012

Street Medicine Detroit, a student organization in the School of Medicine that provides medical care to the city’s homeless residents, is founded.

1933

Federal relief funds assigned through the New Deal allow for remodeling at the Main Building, which is later renamed Old Main.

1987

Alexa Canady, M.D., joins the School of Medicine faculty. The nation’s first female African American neurosurgeon, Canady would stay at Wayne State until her retirement in 2001. 

1952

Alumnus Abraham Nemeth (Ph.D. ’64) develops a Braille code for math and science notations, allowing blind scholars to pursue studies in many fields. #wsu150 ://go.wayne.edu/wsu150 
Image courtesy of @ReutherLibrary.
 

1965

The Frederick C. Matthaei Physical Education and Recreation Building is constructed as part of Detroit’s bid for the 1968 Olympics. The Summer Games would ultimately take place in Mexico City, with the Matthaei becoming part of WSU’s campus. 
 

1952

Wayne State researcher Forest Dewey Dodrill, M.D., and General Motors engineers design a machine to temporarily replace the blood-pumping function of the heart, making open-heart surgery possible.
 

1987

The drug AZT, created by Wayne State professor and researcher Jerome P. Horwitz, becomes the first federally approved treatment for AIDS.

2014

Alumna Sonya Tayeh (CFPCA ’02) teaches a master class at Wayne State. The two-time Emmy Award-winning choreographer is best known for her work on the TV show So You Think You Can Dance.

1966

To accommodate campus pedestrians, Second Avenue north of Warren is closed to vehicular traffic and ultimately becomes Gullen Mall.

1952

Law School alumna Cora Brown becomes the first African American woman in the country to be elected to a state senate.

1925

The College of Pharmacy graduates its first five pharmacists including Katie Moy Lim, the first female and first Chinese graduate of the college.

2013

WSU faculty members Robert Harr and Paul Karchin are part of the research team awarded the Nobel Prize for discovering the Higgs boson, also known as "the God particle" — the most sought-after particle in the history of physics.

1975

Wayne State University awards Rosa Parks an honorary degree.

1881

The Detroit Normal Training School, a predecessor of the College of Education, is founded. The Washington School building, pictured, would serve as its home from 1895 to 1914. 
 

2002

Playwright Neil Simon visits Wayne State University’s College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts for a master class. 

2012

Wayne State students and faculty conduct an archaeological dig in Roosevelt Park. 

1960s

The Wayne State Tolerance Curve is used to establish the head injury criterion for federal motor vehicle safety standards.

1968

Wayne State unveils special edition logos recognizing the university’s centennial. #wsu150
 

1937

Students pose for a group photo during the J-Hop dance at the Fountain Ballroom in the Masonic Temple.

1980s

Alumnus Casey Kasem (B.S. ’58) represents Wayne State in the university’s promotional materials.

1935

Women practice archery in a gymnasium once housed in Old Main.

1922

The Cheese Gang, a freshman disciplinary student organization, is founded. The Cheese Gang would later become the Chega fraternity, which affiliated with the national fraternity Phi Sigma Epsilon in 1942.

2001

Wayne State breaks ground on the Welcome Center and bookstore.

1945

Our College of Nursing is founded.

1999

Wayne State launches the OneCard with a “card-cutting” ceremony in the Student Center. 

1953

Science Library construction is completed on campus.

1987

WSU dedicates the Frederick Linsell House as the Office of the Dean for the College of Fine and Performing Arts.

1956

John Wayne hosts the "Miss Wayne University" pageant on campus as part of the promotional tour for his film, The Searchers. 

1994

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching recognizes Wayne State as a top-tier research university.

1918

Since its formation in 1918, the university’s student council has held regular elections, such as this one (date unknown).

1994

 Wayne State students gain access to Gopher, a pre-HTML form of internet linking academic institutions across the country.

1936

The Main Building (now Old Main) houses individual schools and colleges including the Detroit City Law School, Detroit Teachers College and the College of Pharmacy. Here, College of Pharmacy students are pictured working in a laboratory. 

1945

The SS Wayne Victory, a World War II cargo ship named after Wayne University, is launched. The ship served the military throughout the remainder of World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. 

1940s

After WWII, veterans attended Wayne University in record numbers. The influx of students led the university to set up temporary classrooms and use neighborhood homes to meet space demands. #wsu150

1935

Wayne State College of Education teachers support area schools. #wsu150

1950

Wayne State opens first university computational lab in the Midwest. #wsu150
 

1988

Alumna Lily Tomlin receives an honorary doctorate of fine arts from Wayne State University. #wsu150

1923

The first sorority on campus, An-Tik-Lik (later known as Alpha Theta Sigma), is established.
 

1957

Wayne University’s WTVS-TV broadcasts an educational program, Preschooler, as part of the College of Education’s community outreach. 
 

1951

Wayne University acquires the Temple Beth-El, which goes on to become the Bonstelle Theatre. Prior to the acquisition, students conducted rehearsals in campus-adjacent houses due to lack of space. #wsu150
 

1968

Twelve WSU students form a track and field team, the Roadrunners, and go on to win first place in the Michigan Wheelchair Games. Five members of the team ultimately compete as part of the 1968 U.S. Paralympic Team. #wsu150
 

1950

“Old Main” becomes the official name of the former Central High School space, now Wayne State University’s most iconic building. #wsu150
 

1868

The Detroit Medical College, a predecessor of Wayne State University, is founded by five Civil War physicians.