Governor of Wayne State University Choose 2
Duties: The Wayne State University Board of Governors has eight members and has general supervision of the university and the control and direction of all expenditures from the institution's funds. The board shall elect a university president who shall be the principal executive officer.Term: 8 yearsVote for no more than two (2) candidates.
Biographical Information
Website
http://www.akeelforwsu.com
Occupation / Current Position
Attorney
Education
Juris Doctor (J.D.) at Detroit College of Law (now MSU College of Law); Master of Business Administration (MBA) Wayne State University; Bachelor of Arts/ Economics, University of Michigan
What experience and vision would you bring to the Board of Trustees to help guide the university’s academic, financial, and community priorities?
As a CPA, civil rights attorney for nearly 30 yrs, and proud Wayne State alumnus, I want to use my experience to give back to a university and community that mean so much to me. I want every student to have the support and opportunities to graduate and build a successful future. I’ll focus on academic excellence, career preparation, responsible financial oversight, and supporting faculty and staff. I also want to strengthen Wayne State’s connection to Detroit and communities across Michigan, including expanding healthcare access and opportunities for future physicians to serve where they are needed most.
What are the most pressing issues facing this university today, and what is your position on those issues?
Student retention, affordability, and responsible financial oversight are among the most pressing issues facing Wayne State. Too many students face financial and personal barriers that can keep them from graduating. I support stronger academic and mental-health resources, need-based aid, career opportunities, and assistance for students facing hardship. The Board must also carefully oversee spending, contracts, investments, and major projects while protecting academics, student services, faculty, and employees.
How do you evaluate the University’s efforts to expand access for Michigan residents and uphold free speech on campus, and what actions would you support the Regents taking in these areas?
Access should mean more than giving students the opportunity to enroll. It means making sure they can afford to stay, receive the support they need, and ultimately graduate. I support stronger partnerships with Michigan schools and community colleges, clearer transfer pathways, need-based aid, advising, mentoring, and career preparation. As a civil-rights attorney for nearly 30 years, I believe free speech is essential. The Board should protect peaceful speech, protest, academic freedom, and due process through fair, constitutional policies that also protect campus safety.
Biographical Information
Website
http://Richardmackforwsu.com
Occupation / Current Position
Union-side Labor and Employment Attorney
Education
UofM undergrad, WSU Law School
Qualifications and Experience
28 years pouring over complex budget documents of public employers (and private employers)
What experience and vision would you bring to the Board of Trustees to help guide the university’s academic, financial, and community priorities?
As a 28-year labor attorney (WSU Law alum), I have poured over hundreds of complex budgets and other accounting/financial documents, searching for creative solutions and financial efficiencies. As both an elected member of a legislative body (Detroit Charter Commission), and attorney, I have helped write many governing documents, such as ordinances or state bills addressing Detroits bankruptcy.
Students deserve a safe, affordable, well-resourced educational experience. The University workforce deserves help in delivering this education. Community members state-wide, should benefit from what WSU offers (ie Labor@Wayne).
What are the most pressing issues facing this university today, and what is your position on those issues?
Unfortunately, less than 60% of students overall leave WSU with a degree. For Black students, it is less than 30%. The WSU student population is mostly commuter, living at home and struggling with adult-life realities. Resources to meet them where they are, to help them graduate, are critical. Many need assistance finding grants to pay for remaining credit hours.
Plus, students, staff and the community must be able to exercise their 1st Amendment rights, legally, in the classroom and public square. I have successfully litigated such constitutional rights cases, and will work to protect these and other rights.
How do you evaluate the University’s efforts to expand access for Michigan residents and uphold free speech on campus, and what actions would you support the Regents taking in these areas?
WSU has launched a number of tuition-reduction initiatives, to offer education to those who could not otherwise afford it. As a result, WSU is ranked amongst the top universities, nationally, for social mobility. Indeed, studies show that graduating with a WSU degree adds $30,000 to one’s income in 5 years. Because 80-plus % of WSU graduates stay in Michigan, that extra income stays here, enhancing our local Michigan economies.
To protect free speech rights, WSU Governors must: host forums to educate the public about their rights, question administration officials about their enforcement efforts, draft WSU policy, etc.
Biographical Information
What experience and vision would you bring to the Board of Trustees to help guide the university’s academic, financial, and community priorities?
Candidate has not yet responded.
What are the most pressing issues facing this university today, and what is your position on those issues?
Candidate has not yet responded.
How do you evaluate the University’s efforts to expand access for Michigan residents and uphold free speech on campus, and what actions would you support the Regents taking in these areas?
Candidate has not yet responded.
Biographical Information
Website
http://murphyforwaynestate.com
Occupation / Current Position
Technology Executive
Education
Bachelors of Mathematics, Wayne State University; Masters of IT, Carnegie Mellon University; MBA, University of Michigan;
Qualifications and Experience
20+ Years of Technology Leadership including General Motors, Samsung, and Meta; 15+ Years of Board Experience;
What experience and vision would you bring to the Board of Trustees to help guide the university’s academic, financial, and community priorities?
With over 15 years of board experience, I understand the difference between governing and managing, and I will bring that discipline to Wayne State. I will focus on student outcomes as the primary measure of institutional success. Graduation rates, graduate employment, debt loads, and mobility outcomes should be front and center in every major budget and policy conversation. If the data isn't moving in the right direction, it is the Board's responsibility to ask why and demand a credible plan.
What are the most pressing issues facing this university today, and what is your position on those issues?
Wayne State must focus on three priorities: fiscal discipline, workforce development, and upward mobility.
Fiscal discipline means ensuring every dollar works as hard as possible for students, through rigorous budget reviews and a willingness to sunset programs that don't serve our core mission.
Workforce development is urgent. WSU's nearly $283 million in research funding should drive regional job creation and career-ready graduates.
Upward mobility is Wayne State's greatest calling. I will champion student support, internship pipipelines, and completion initiatives that ensure our students graduate and thrive.
How do you evaluate the University’s efforts to expand access for Michigan residents and uphold free speech on campus, and what actions would you support the Regents taking in these areas?
Wayne State’s programs to expand opportunities for Michigan Residents are the reason that I have a college education and a successful career today. The primary reason I am running for this position is to give back to the University and help to preserve these opportunities for future generations.
Free expression is a cornerstone of university life, and Wayne State has both a legal and moral obligation to protect it. But free expression comes with responsibility. No one should be shielded from accountability for speech that targets or demeans any group of people.
Biographical Information
What experience and vision would you bring to the Board of Trustees to help guide the university’s academic, financial, and community priorities?
Candidate has not yet responded.
What are the most pressing issues facing this university today, and what is your position on those issues?
Candidate has not yet responded.
How do you evaluate the University’s efforts to expand access for Michigan residents and uphold free speech on campus, and what actions would you support the Regents taking in these areas?
Candidate has not yet responded.
Biographical Information
What experience and vision would you bring to the Board of Trustees to help guide the university’s academic, financial, and community priorities?
Candidate has not yet responded.
What are the most pressing issues facing this university today, and what is your position on those issues?
Candidate has not yet responded.
How do you evaluate the University’s efforts to expand access for Michigan residents and uphold free speech on campus, and what actions would you support the Regents taking in these areas?
Candidate has not yet responded.
Biographical Information
What experience and vision would you bring to the Board of Trustees to help guide the university’s academic, financial, and community priorities?
Candidate has not yet responded.
What are the most pressing issues facing this university today, and what is your position on those issues?
Candidate has not yet responded.
How do you evaluate the University’s efforts to expand access for Michigan residents and uphold free speech on campus, and what actions would you support the Regents taking in these areas?
Candidate has not yet responded.
Biographical Information
What experience and vision would you bring to the Board of Trustees to help guide the university’s academic, financial, and community priorities?
Candidate has not yet responded.
What are the most pressing issues facing this university today, and what is your position on those issues?
Candidate has not yet responded.
How do you evaluate the University’s efforts to expand access for Michigan residents and uphold free speech on campus, and what actions would you support the Regents taking in these areas?
Candidate has not yet responded.
Biographical Information
Website
http://www.workingclassfight.com
Occupation / Current Position
retired teacher and librarian
Education
Wayne State University: BA English Literature, Master of Art and Teaching, Master of Library and Information
Qualifications and Experience
I’m a long time teacher and librarian. I started college 9 months pregnant and soon became a single mother. After graduating I struggled with student loan debt.
What experience and vision would you bring to the Board of Trustees to help guide the university’s academic, financial, and community priorities?
I’m a long time teacher and librarian. I started college 9 months pregnant and soon became a single mother. With no real skills to support my child and myself, I saw college as an opportunity to improve my life. But it came with an enormous cost: student loan debt. I have listened to working class students’ express their struggle to afford a college education. Enormous student debt has become normalized. There is plenty of money, but it’s going to wars and corporate tax breaks. The Working Class Party believes education is a right, and should be accessible to all and funded with no limitations.
What are the most pressing issues facing this university today, and what is your position on those issues?
The ever-increasing cost of tuition, room and board with the burden of student debt.
The Working Class Party was established to voice the concerns of the working class. According to a former dean of admissions for MIT, the Pell Grant, which supports working class students, is facing a deficit of billions. Federal and state funding has been gutted and loans for graduate students have been slashed. There is enough money to fund a free higher educational system in this country. If free or minimal cost higher education can exist in other countries why not here? We must fight to redirect our tax money to where it meets our needs.
How do you evaluate the University’s efforts to expand access for Michigan residents and uphold free speech on campus, and what actions would you support the Regents taking in these areas?
You cannot expand access for residents without first addressing the cost of tuition, housing, transportation and affordable food. On the campus of WSU in 2024, the police shut down protests against the war in Gaza by the request of WSU. If universities are truly a place of learning, exploration and debate, freedoms of speech, to assemble and protest should be essential rights on campus. If elected along with students and faculty I would organize a fight for these rights.
Biographical Information
What experience and vision would you bring to the Board of Trustees to help guide the university’s academic, financial, and community priorities?
Candidate has not yet responded.
What are the most pressing issues facing this university today, and what is your position on those issues?
Candidate has not yet responded.
How do you evaluate the University’s efforts to expand access for Michigan residents and uphold free speech on campus, and what actions would you support the Regents taking in these areas?
Candidate has not yet responded.