Diane Baldwin
Oakland University Community Partnership Coordinator
Rochester, MI
Our university is in the process of creating infrastructure to streamline the community work we do to have a greater coordination and opportunities for our students and faculty and greater impact in our surrounding communities. We are re-examining the ways we work with communities, create programs, utilize grants and communicate the work we do. This July, we onboarded a new president whose focus is community engagement and diversity, which is a new & welcome experience for our campus community.
Our target community is Pontiac, an urban center about 7 miles from our campus with high poverty and an at-risk student population; the only high school was slotted to close this June but has remained open due to a pledge of reorganization of academic and social/emotional resources and partner commitment. Pontiac is the only city in our state who has emerged from nine years of state emergency oversight and is starting to experience revitalization on many levels. The opportunities for faculty and students to engage is vast and creates many possibilities for mutually beneficial activities.