![\"Daniel](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/88\/2021\/09\/dan-wright.jpg?resize=576%2C432&ssl=1\")
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The late Daniel J. Wright \u201973 was a talented attorney, Michigan Supreme Court Commissioner and a lover of Irish poetry who could quote W. B. Yeats from memory.<\/p>\n
He was also known as the \u201cMichigan Miracle\u201d lawyer because in 2003 he saved the state $178 million in federal fines when he led the state\u2019s efforts to upgrade Michigan\u2019s outdated child support system by federally mandated guidelines.<\/p>\n
To honor\u2019s Wright\u2019s memory and support future child welfare leaders, a group of Wright\u2019s friends established the Daniel J. Wright Memorial Endowed Scholarship in Child Welfare at University of Detroit Mercy.<\/p>\n
Maura D. Corrigan \u201973 is leading the effort to create the fund. She was chief justice of the Michigan Supreme Court when, in 2002, she tapped law school classmate Wright to pull off a \u201cmiracle.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the time, it seemed impossible that all the state\u2019s counties could meet the federal deadline,\u201d said Corrigan, who later served as director of the Michigan Department of Human Services. \u201cBut Dan was a tremendous diplomat and a man of his word. He persuaded the counties to come on board despite all the difficulties involved.\u201d<\/p>\n
Federal officials acknowledged at the time that it took a \u201cmiracle\u201d for the state to meet the deadlines, Corrigan added.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am not surprised that Dan pulled off \u2018The Michigan Miracle,\u2019 said J. Patrick Wright, about his brother. \u201cDan had tremendous drive but very little ego. He never talked about himself. So, it is comforting to know his memory and bountiful legacy of helping children in need will continue in the education of children\u2019s advocates at the University of Detroit Mercy.\u201d<\/p>\n
As head of the Michigan Supreme Court\u2019s Friend of the Court Bureau, and later as director of the Court\u2019s Child Welfare Services Division, Wright continued to work for Michigan\u2019s children and families. He launched \u201cadoption forums\u201d to make it easier for children in foster care to find permanent homes and advocated for legislation giving children more power in the legal decisions affecting their futures.<\/p>\n
To honor his work in child welfare, the state created the Daniel J. Wright Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011, recognizing outstanding advocates for Michigan children and families.<\/p>\n
But Wright\u2019s friends, many of them former colleagues, wanted to do more, said Kelly Wagner, who succeeded Wright as director of the Child Welfare Services Division.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe started thinking about the best way to honor Dan\u2019s legacy,\u201d Wagner said. \u201cAnd what better way of doing that than to support the next generation of child welfare advocates?\u201d<\/p>\n
Julie A. Hein,\u00a0director of development for Detroit Mercy Law, said financial need is a serious barrier to students who want to pursue a career in child welfare, advocacy and policy.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Wright Fund scholarship can have a tremendous impact for these students and, by extension, the field of child welfare,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The Wright scholarship will be offered to students at Detroit Mercy Law, the College of Business Administration and the College of Liberal Arts and Education at Detroit Mercy. The Wright scholarship fund committee hopes to raise $50,000 over three years to endow the scholarship.<\/p>\n