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SOUTHFIELD, Michigan – Steve Forbes, chairman and editor-in-chief of Forbes Media, will speak at Lawrence Technological University’s 83rd Commencement May 9 and be awarded the honorary degree, Doctor of Business Administration.

Some 800 students comprise LTU’s class of 2015. They will receive undergraduate, master’s and doctoral degrees at the 1 p.m. ceremonies held indoors at the Ultimate Soccer Arenas in Pontiac. Some 4,500 family members and guests are expected to attend. Admission is by ticket only.

Forbes Media’s flagship publication, Forbes, is the nation’s leading business magazine, with a circulation of more than 900,000. Various editions of the magazine together reach a worldwide audience of more than five million.

Under Steve Forbes’ leadership, the company has launched a variety of new publications, websites, and businesses worldwide. It also publishes investment newsletters. Forbes.com, a leading business website, reaches over 70 million unique visitors.

Forbes writes editorials for each issue of the magazine. He is also a prolific book author, commentator, and economic prognosticator known for the accuracy of his forecasts.

His latest book, “Money: How the Destruction of the Dollar Threatens the Global Economy – and What We Can Do About It,” was co-authored by Elizabeth Ames and published by McGraw-Hill Professional last June.

In both 1996 and 2000, Forbes campaigned for the Republican nomination for the presidency. The national agenda that he continues to promote includes a flat tax, medical savings accounts, a new Social Security system for working Americans, parental school choice, term limits, and a strong national defense.

In 1985, President Reagan named Forbes chair of the bipartisan Board for International Broadcasting, overseeing the operations of Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty. Poland’s Lech Walesa praised these stations as being critical to the struggle against communism. Forbes was reappointed by President George H. W. Bush and served until 1993.

Steve Forbes is a native of Morristown, New Jersey. He received a B.A. in history from Princeton University in 1970, and served on its board of trustees for 10 years.

Forbes serves on the boards of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, the Heritage Foundation, and the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. He is on the Board of Overseers of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and the Board of Visitors for Pepperdine University’s School of Public Policy. He also serves as honorary chairman of Americans for Hope, Growth, and Opportunity, a non-profit advocacy organization.

“Steve Forbes is one of today’s great economic thought leaders, and we are delighted to have him participate in our graduation ceremony,” said LTU President Virinder K. Moudgil. “His visit also has a historical footnote. Some 82 years ago his grandfather, B.C. Forbes, in his newspaper column praised the new incubators for emerging businesses that were part of the creation of Lawrence Technological University. Those business incubators, the first in the nation and a then-revolutionary idea of Lawrence Tech founder Russell Lawrence, were aimed at encouraging new enterprise during the Great Depression. We are proud that Steve’s grandfather helped make Lawrence’s innovation widely known and ultimately, a worldwide success.

Lawrence Technological University, www.ltu.edu, is a private university founded in 1932 that offers more than 100 programs through the doctoral level in its Colleges of Architecture and Design, Arts and Sciences, Engineering, and Management. PayScale lists Lawrence Tech among the nation’s top 100 universities for the salaries of its graduates, and U.S. News and World Report lists it in the top tier of best Midwestern universities. Students benefit from small class sizes and a real-world, hands-on, “theory and practice” education with an emphasis on leadership. Activities on Lawrence Tech’s 102-acre campus include over 60 student organizations and NAIA varsity sports.

Eric Pope
Managing Editor, University News Bureau
Lawrence Technological University
(248) 204-2210
(313) 505-6508 (cell)

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SOUTHFIELD, Mich. – Lawrence Technological University has placed in the top 25 bachelor’s degree programs for computer game design in a national survey conducted by The Princeton Review and PC Gamer.

Lawrence Tech offers a bachelor’s degree in game art through its College of Architecture and Design. Students can also take a concentration in game software development when earning a bachelor’s degree in computer science in LTU’s College of Arts and Sciences.

LTU’s game art students take courses in software development, which gives them a big edge in the growing market for game designers.

Lawrence Tech’s program is ranked 23rd in the country.

“We combine the strengths of both game art and software development to engage our students with real-world project experience early on. This fosters growth in a professional environment, leading students through the design philosophies and practical knowledge of their chosen focus,” said Marshall Ashton, a senior lecturer who helped develop LTU’s program. “We keep it simple – we do what they do in the industry.”

The Princeton Review surveyed 150 institutions offering game design coursework and/or degrees in the United States, Canada, and some countries abroad. More than 60 data points were weighted to create the rankings based primarily on curriculum, facilities, technology, and career services. The 50-question survey asked schools to report on everything from their academic offerings and faculty credentials to their graduates’ starting salaries and employment experience.

Among the surveyed schools,  undergrads are earning an average starting salary of $58,000, a 20 percent increase in just one year and 28 percent more than the average salary for all 2014 undergrads.

Game design students also find professional achievement while still in school. The survey found that 48 percent of undergraduate students and 66 percent of graduate students have worked on a game that was shipped before they graduated.

“For students aspiring to work in the burgeoning field of game design, these are truly the ‘cream of the crop’ institutions from which to launch a career,” said Robert Franek, The Princeton Review’s senior vice president and publisher.

The monthly magazine PC Gamer has a feature on the list in its May issue now available on newsstands. The Princeton Review’s full report on this project is at www.princetonreview.com/game-design.

The Princeton Review is known for its annual rankings of colleges, law schools, and business schools in dozens of categories. The company is not affiliated with Princeton University.

Lawrence Technological University, www.ltu.edu, is a private university founded in 1932 that offers more than 100 programs through the doctoral level in its Colleges of Architecture and Design, Arts and Sciences, Engineering, and Management. PayScale lists Lawrence Tech among the nation’s top 100 universities for the salaries of its graduates, and U.S. News and World Report lists it in the top tier of best Midwestern universities. Students benefit from small class sizes and a real-world, hands-on, “theory and practice” education with an emphasis on leadership. Activities on Lawrence Tech’s 102-acre campus include over 60 student organizations and NAIA varsity sports.

Eric Pope
Managing Editor, University News Bureau
Lawrence Technological University
(248) 204-2210
(313) 505-6508 (cell)

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SOUTHFIELD, Mich. – The online master’s degree program in information technology (MSIT) at Lawrence Technological University has been ranked 23rd in the country by U.S News & World Report and 33rd by the website, topmanagementdegrees.com. Both rankings are the best in Michigan.

The MSIT program, which is offered through LTU’s College of Management, gives students the choice of a concentration in business analytics, information assurance, or project management.

The U.S. News & World Report rankings are based on faculty credentials and training, student engagement, student services and technology, peer reputation, and admissions selectivity.

The topmanagementdegrees.com rankings are based on the most recent data from The Princeton Review, U.S. News & World Report, Businessweek’s Complete 2014 Business School Ranking, The National Center for Education and Statistics, and PayScale’s Graduate School Salary Report. This ranking combines the results of two of the most influential higher education rankings, each university’s average graduate school tuition, and average early career salaries of graduates.

The MSIT program at Lawrence Tech is designed to provide business professionals with an enhanced understanding of advanced information technology concepts and systems. The curriculum covers object-oriented systems analysis and design, database modeling and administration, enterprise systems security, technical infrastructure, project management, emerging technologies, and an IT integration capstone class. Students learn how to test innovative ideas using hands-on lab exercises to learn how to immediately apply what has been learned in the classroom.

Lawrence Technological University, www.ltu.edu, is a private university founded in 1932 that offers more than 100 programs through the doctoral level in its Colleges of Architecture and Design, Arts and Sciences, Engineering, and Management. PayScale lists Lawrence Tech among the nation’s top 100 universities for the salaries of its graduates, and U.S. News and World Report lists it in the top tier of best Midwestern universities. Students benefit from small class sizes and a real-world, hands-on, “theory and practice” education with an emphasis on leadership. Activities on Lawrence Tech’s 102-acre campus include over 60 student organizations and NAIA varsity sports.

Eric Pope
Managing Editor, University News Bureau
Lawrence Technological University
(248) 204-2210
(313) 505-6508 (cell)

facebook.com/lawrencetechu
twitter.com/lawrencetechu