Welcome from the Dean 

Welcome to the Irvin D. Reid Honors College, a dynamic academic community located in the heart of Wayne State University and the City of Detroit. Our approximately 2000 high-achieving undergraduate students pursue majors across the university, and they come together in the Honors College as scholars, as a community, and as citizens of Detroit and the wider world. 

Wayne State is a premier urban research institution with the Carnegie Foundation’s highest classification for research, which means that Honors students can work alongside world-renowned scholars in a wide range of disciplines. Wayne State also bears the Carnegie Foundation’s Community Engagement classification, in recognition of our longstanding commitment to partnerships and engagement with the community around us. We support the university’s Prosperity Agenda, which recognizes the university’s responsibility to our students and our city while we look ahead to their future. Speaking of the future: the majority of our students will go on to graduate and professional school. Many will become leaders right here in our community, although we have alumni around the country and the world. 

In the Honors College, both academic excellence and community are core to our mission. Students in Honors will benefit from Honors seminars taught by our award-winning faculty, dedicated advisors, research and internship opportunities, career mentoring, extracurricular experiences and more. And they receive special distinction at graduation, recognizing their achievement and opening doors for their future. 

I am honored to serve you as Interim Dean of the Irvin D. Reid Honors College.  

Elena Past, Ph.D. Interim Dean,
Irvin D. Reid Honors College
Professor of Italian