Faculty

Community Engagement, through the Stewards of Place pathway, offers high-impact opportunities for students and faculty, where students address and solve real-world problems and faculty increase their research productivity while also providing experiential learning opportunities. It also positions OU to have a significant impact in communities when our students and faculty help communities confront and solve problems they are facing.

Community engagement at Oakland University is defined as collaboration between the university and off-campus communities for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity.

• Reciprocity: We are committed to the goal of mutual benefit for campus and community
• Reliability: We do what we say we will do
• Respect: We invite community partners to have a seat at the table
• Responsiveness: We actively listen to community input, set expectations and follow through
• Trust: We work to build trust by being reliable, honest, and consistent in our actions

Strategic Vision 2030

Community Engagement Champions

Goals
The purpose of establishing a network of Community Engagement Champions at OU is to grow the overall community engagement enterprise. Our goal is to increase the number of students, faculty and staff who do community-engaged work, either in the context of community-engaged teaching, community-engaged research, or community-engaged service (for specific definitions of these three activities, see the Approved University-wide Community Engagement Definitions).

Who
Community Engagement Champions will be recruited from the College as well as each school on campus. Four Champions from the College will represent the different disciplinary areas – social science, natural science, humanities, and SMTD – while each school will recruit at least one (with others certainly welcome) Champion from their ranks. Champions will be faculty who are not currently serving on the Senate Community Engagement Committee or the Senate Experiential Learning Committee (or its Service Learning Subcommittee ). Again, the idea is to expand the network of community-engaged faculty.

Champions need not be active (although they are certainly welcome) in community-engaged work. Rather, they may also be faculty who have done community-engaged work in the past and are looking to return to the work, or faculty who have not done community-engaged work in the past but who are interested in getting involved. 

What
Community Engagement Champions will: 

• be invited to attend networking events and engage with other faculty, staff and students who engage in community engaged work;
• have access to professional development and training opportunities related to community engagement; 
• have access to OU-sponsored community events (e.g., Detroit Economic Club events and speakers); and 
• share lessons learned and best practices with those new to community engagement.

Champions are designed to promote and help expand community engagement at OU Champions can do so by:

• discussing their experiences with others curious about community engagement;
• being a resource for others interested in exploring community engagement; 
• helping to communicate community engagement opportunities with other faculty, staff and students; 
• helping to collect examples of community-engaged work happening on campus by informing the Senate Community Engagement Committee of those examples; and
• generally be an advocate for community-engaged work.

Process
The Senate Community Engagement Committee will accept nominations by other faculty or self nominations. The Committee will make the selections based on the strength of the recommendation by the nominator. Champions will serve for a period of 24 months (this will not necessarily match up with the academic calendar as Champions may be identified at any time) with the opportunity for renewal.

Nomination form to come.

With community-engaged scholarship, research and creative activity, your work may involve generating a publication, professional report, invention, patent or any other type of output that provides demonstrated value to the community.

Community-engaged scholarship is defined as mutually beneficial activities undertaken by faculty members, staff and students in partnership with the community that adds to existing knowledge by applying scholarly expertise, skills, experience, and resources, to create advances in public good and scientific knowledge.

Stories:
Associate Professor of Political Science Douglas Carr, Ph.D., powers Oakland University’s research by embodying innovation. He collaborates with the City of Auburn Hills to develop and conduct surveys with Auburn Hills residents and businesses, helping the city consider programs, ordinances and set priorities that better serve its residents.

Associate Professor of Health Kwame Sakyi, Ph.D., fosters community research at OU by inspiring outreach through global service. He conducts research that supports children with disabilities in Ghana, using parent-based peer health models to partner with hospitals to research global health and social issues.

Teaching and instruction encompasses internships and experiential learning opportunities, as well as outreach to community partners and the general public on and off campus with public events, workshops and continuing education. 

This community-engaged instruction is defined as instruction in which faculty, staff and students ally with external partners to enhance educational opportunities to the broader community. Learn more about service learning courses.

Stories:
Director of the Pawley Lean Institute Dennis Wade supports Oakland University’s student force by embodying imagination through service. He runs student-led local community projects that connect students with vital service work that not only enhances the students’ resumes, but also offers much-needed help to organizations.

Distinguished Professor of Engineering Huirong Fu, Ph.D., powers mentorship at OU by inspiring passion through teaching. By offering hands-on learning for the National Science Foundation CyberCorps® Scholarship for Service students, she is training the next generation of information technology professionals to meet the cybersecurity needs of federal, state and local governments.

Associate Professor Kelly Berishaj prepares the next chapter of Oakland University students by infusing compassion into teaching. She supports her forensic nursing students with opportunities for them to work alongside health care providers at Turning Point, a domestic abuse treatment center in Mount Clemens. 

Service work includes volunteering, conducting seminars to community groups, consulting for community agencies and serving as an expert for the media. 

Community-engaged service is defined as collaboration between faculty, staff and students and a community partner that results in mutually beneficial services. Community-engaged service may, or may not, be related to an academic program.

Stories:
Assistant Professor in Foundational Medical Studies Abram Brummett, Ph.D., embodies OU's spirit by inspiring compassion through service. He cares about the experience of his patients, volunteering with Nobody Dies Alone (NODA) which provides companionship to patients at the end of their lives.

Associate Professor of Dance Ali Woerner fuels Oakland University’s vision by inspiring creativity through service. She’s developed a number of programs that use movement for both physical and mental wellness, including Soulful Steps, a partnership with Gilda’s Club Detroit that offers dance classes to those on their cancer journey.

Associate Professor of Accounting Seong Yeon Cho, Ph.D., powers Oakland University’s academic sphere by embodying ingenuity through service. He tailors his skills to aid the finance committee at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church with bookkeeping, contributing to the greater good by helping interpret their budget and allocate resources to the wider community.