Detroit, MI - /PRNewswire/ -- Fort Street at Third Avenue in Detroit received the name of "Curtis L. Ivery Street" on Thursday, Dec. 14, 2023, following a Detroit City Council resolution honoring Wayne County Community College District Chancellor Dr. Curtis L. Ivery.
The new street sign was unveiled in a morning ceremony Thursday at Fort and Third Streets.
Ivery is a national thought leader, author, equity advocate, and force for change in higher education in southeast Michigan. He led the transformation of WCCCD into a thriving, six-campus, dynamic college district with more than 60,000 credit and non-credit students annually. Ivery also led the way in workforce development efforts throughout the county, creating more than 500 academic and career degree and certificate programs to help create a highly skilled workforce in southeast Michigan.
Continuing a lifelong career as an advocate for educational equity, Ivery has assembled academic, community, business, religious and government leaders at the table across a series of roundtables, think tanks and conferences to develop real-world strategies to expand educational equity and economic mobility in our region, and throughout the nation.
Ivery serves on numerous local, state, and national organizations and boards, including the prestigious American Association of Community Colleges and the Commission on Economic and Workforce Development.
He has received many awards and honors throughout his life, most recently the inaugural CEO of the Year Award from the American Association of Community Colleges, the Leadership Excellence Award for Diversity and Inclusion from the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, and the prestigious 2016 Trumpet Award for Education. In December, Ivery was awarded the Alumni of the Year award from the University of Arkansas recognizing his extraordinary professional and personal achievements in education and health care. Ivery served as the first African American appointed by President Bill Clinton to the Governor's Cabinet in the state of Arkansas as the Commissioner for the Department of Health and Human Services.
About Wayne County Community College District
WCCCD, one of the largest urban-suburban community colleges in Michigan, is a multi-campus district with six campus locations and educational centers, including the Mary Ellen Stempfle University Center, the Heinz C. Prechter Educational and Performing Arts Center, the Michigan Institute for Public Safety Education (MIPSE), the Curtis L. Ivery Health and Wellness Education Center and the Outdoor Careers Training Center. The District serves students across 32 cities and townships, and more than 500 square miles. WCCCD is committed to the continued development of innovative programs, workforce transformation, hosting community-based training sessions, and improving student facilities and services. www.wcccd.edu.