Wayne Law student wins environmental writing competition
Nathan Inks, a second-year student at Wayne State University Law School, has won first place in the Michigan Environmental Law Journal writing competition.
He will be awarded $2,000 for his first-place essay, “Wetland Mitigation in Michigan: Working Toward the Goal of No Net Loss of Wetlands.”
The Environmental Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan publishes the Michigan Environmental Law Journal and sponsors the essay contest.
Wayne Law students have done extremely well in the competition, placing among the top three spots for each of the last three years.
Inks, a Lincoln Park resident, has been interested in the environment for many years. He earned a bachelor of science degree in meteorology at Central Michigan University.
“In my last semester there, I took an environmental politics and policy class,” he said. “One of the topics that we discussed in that class was wetlands and wetland mitigation. Michigan’s wetlands and the laws dealing with them have been an interest of mine since taking the class.”
State law requires developers to mitigate — create or restore — wetlands for any impact their projects may cause to existing wetlands.
Inks is interested in practicing either environmental law or elections law after graduation from Wayne Law.
$50K donation endows Conyers scholarship
A $50,000 donation has established an endowed scholarship at Wayne State University Law School in honor of U.S. Rep. John Conyers Jr., D-Mich.
The gift was presented to Wayne Law Dean Jocelyn Benson on Sunday, Sept. 29, at Greater Grace Temple in Detroit during an event paying tribute to Conyers and his nearly 50 years representing the Detroit area in Congress. Conyers graduated from Wayne Law in 1958.
The $50,000 came from many of the sponsors of the tribute.
Benson noted the scholarship is another way that Conyers’ legacy is being honored at Wayne Law. In 2012, the congressman announced that Wayne Law’s Damon J. Keith Collection of African American Legal History will be the beneficiary of the papers and records of his decades in Congress. The materials include original documents related to his work promoting civil rights and social justice.
“We are grateful and honored that Wayne Law has been chosen again to pay tribute to the legacy of one of the greatest civil rights leaders or our time,” Benson said. “These scholarships will help our students and inspire them to serve in the great tradition of our alumni.”
Several attendees at Sunday’s event also made donations or pledges for the scholarship endowment. Additional donations and pledges continue to be received. To donate to the scholarship endowment, visit giving.wayne.edu and indicate your gift is for the John Conyers Jr. scholarship endowment. For more details about the endowment, call Matt Cunningham at (313) 577-0749.
