Barbara Flis

Barb graduated from the Interdisciplinary Studies Program Summa Cum Laude in May of 2002. She came to Wayne State in the fall of 1999 after almost a 30 year absence from school. She chose Wayne State University because of its high academic reputation, and the Interdisciplinary Studies Program because of the personal attention and support she received from the ISP advisors.

"Interdisciplinary Studies is where I belong," says Barb. "I’m just certain that all of my life I have been an interdisciplinary student in a single discipline style school environment." For Barb, interdisciplinarity is about always asking questions, and making connections where most people might think there is no connection to be made. Once you get Barb talking about the ISP, the faculty, advisors and staff, you can’t shut her up. "I love this program, the people and the campus. I would never have thought that at this stage in my life that I would have made so many wonderful new friends."

College life agrees with Barb. She is the past President of the CLL Student Senate, and the Alpha Sigma Lambda National Honor Society. She also served as CLL’s representative on the Wayne State University Student Council. Barb has twice participated in the Black United Fund’s Academic Assistance Program and is also serving as student representative on the ISP’s Salary Committee. She was the first ISP student to be inducted into the David Mackenzie Honor Society in April 2002. This is a very high achievement as only 13 Wayne State students were elected to membership based on high scholastic scores and service to the university. Barb was also nominated and interviewed as a finalist to receive the Howard A. Donnelly Award.

A long time child advocate Barb is a Health and Education Consultant to the Michigan PTA, the largest volunteer child advocacy organization in the state. She also serves on the Executive Board of Prevention Network, a state-wide coalition to provide support for alcohol, tobacco and other drug abuse prevention efforts. Currently Barb is conducting parent workshops entitled "Sex Education – What Parents Need To Know" under a grant that she received from the Michigan Department of Education.

The entire list of Barb's accomplishments are too long to list here, but, as you can see, she is well qualified to serve the student's of CLL.