Stevie Wonder, Tim Meadows among those to receive honorary degrees at WSU commencement

Wayne State University will hold various commencement ceremonies May 6-8 at the new Wayne State University Fieldhouse and will bestow honorary degrees.

More than 3,200 students have applied for graduation. In addition to the diplomas to new graduates, honorary degrees will be awarded to:

Rev. Dr. Wendell Anthony

Anthony is a spiritual leader and community activist who earned his bachelor of arts in political science from WSU. Anthony became the pastor of Fellowship Chapel in 1986 and is serving as the 15th term president of the Detroit Branch of the NAACP. He founded the Freedom Institute for Economic, Social Justice and People Empowerment. He will be awarded an honorary doctor laws, honoris causa, during a 1 p.m. May 7 ceremony.

Stevie Wonder

The musician, whose full name is Stevland Hardaway Morris, is a native of Saginaw. In addition to his musical accomplishments, he is recognized for his advocacy for civil rights and for the disabled community. In addition to leading the 18-year effort to designate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday as a national holiday, Wonder is the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Civil Rights Museum and the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom. He will be awarded a doctor of humane letters, honors causa, during the ceremony at 1 p.m. May 7.

Gurmale Singh Grewal

Grewal graduated from WSU in 1972 with a finance degree and went on to found Singh Development, one of the largest Indian-owned real estate development companies in the country. Grewal is the company's CEO and it has grown to nearly 2,000 employees. He is being recognized for his achievement in business and commitment to improving health and expanding educational opportunities across Detroit. Grewal will be awarded a doctor of laws, honors causa, at a 4 p.m. May 7 graduation ceremony.

Timothy Meadows

The "Saturday Nigh Live" alum was raised in Detroit and studied television and radio broadcasting at WSU before moving to Chicago in 1985 to begin working as a comedian. Meadows joined the cast of "SNL" in 1991 and was nominated for an Emmy for the show's writing team the same month. He became one of the longest-running cast members in the show's history. Meadows went on to play roles in "Mean Girls," "Grown Ups," "Grown Ups 2" and "The Goldbergs." He will be awarded a doctor of humane letters, honoris causa.

Bill Prady

A graduate of Cranbrook Schools, Prady is now a successful television writer and producer in such shows as "Married ... with Children," "Star Trek: Voyager" and "Gilmore Girls." He co-created "The Big Bang Theory," which won a total of seven Emmy Awards from 46 nominations. In addition to his career, Prady is recognized for his work as a humanitarian and educator and will be awarded a doctor of Human Letters, honors causa. 

More information about WSU commencement ceremonies can be found at commencement.wayne.edu.