Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Breaking News, Read All About It! Oakland University and Pontiac Partnership

Oakland University, Pontiac join forces in ‘town-and-gown’ partnership

Oakland University President George Hynd and Pontiac Mayor Deirdre Waterman at a meeting on the partnership between the city and university, held Tuesday at the Whitmer Human Resource Center. Dustin Blitchok-The Oakland Press

By Dustin Blitchok, The Oakland Press

POSTED: 02/17/15, 6:02 PM EST | UPDATED: 31 MINS AGO

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Oakland University and Pontiac are joining forces in a wide-ranging partnership between the college, the city and its schools, with goals such as improved college attendance rates among Pontiac students, real-world learning opportunities for college students and economic development.

Talks between the city and nearby 21,000-student, Auburn Hills-area university began after Oakland University President George Hynd’s appointment last fall and zeroed in on four major priority areas.

“While there’s lots of encouragement to get involved in Detroit — and Oakland University is involved in Detroit — it seemed to me more reasonable to really look in our own backyard,” Hynd said at a collaborative meeting held Tuesday at Whitmer Human Resource Center.

Pontiac residents said in a recent survey that the keys to the city’s continued comeback are education and workforce development, said Mayor Deirdre Waterman.

“The (partnership) that develops with the school system and all the things you’re doing here are tantamount to the success of this community,” Waterman told Oakland University representatives.

Examples of ideas being discussed include: Improved access to Oakland University scholarships for Pontiac students, transportation between the college and city, service learning, internship and apprenticeship opportunities for Oakland University students and establishing a physical presence for the college in the city.

The faces of the partnership between Oakland University and Pontiac both recently took the helm at changing institutions.

Hynd was appointed president in July at Oakland University, which is setting enrollment records, planning additional on-campus housing and further developing its medical school, the William Beaumont School of Medicine.

Hynd replaced Interim President Betty Youngblood, who served after former President Gary Russi’s abrupt 2013 retirement.

Waterman was elected in a landslide as Pontiac’s first female mayor in Nov. 2013, just months after theresignation of Lou Schimmel, the city’s third emergency manager. A power sharing deal reached last spring between Waterman and City Administrator Joseph Sobota gave her control of five major policy areas.

Interns and experts from Oakland University could be “a big help” at City Hall, Waterman said. Pontiac, a city of 60,000 whose finances have been under some form of state oversight since 2008, operates with a payroll of about 24. Others performing city services are contractors.

About 20 Oakland University student leaders, faculty members and representatives from the city and Pontiac School District focused on education at Tuesday’s meeting.

While student teachers from Oakland University have long been placed in Pontiac schools, evidence of a larger partnership is already visible.

The education field has adopted a clinical model, similar to the medical profession, with more learning taking place in real-world classrooms, said Nancy Melamed Brown, associate dean at Oakland University’s School of Education and Human Services.

Faculty members Tanya Christ and Anica Bowe are slated to work with teaching students from the university in classrooms at Alcott Elementary in the fall.

Another idea that’s been floated: A partnership between Oakland University student government and the Pontiac High School student council.

A consistent presence from Oakland University faculty and students could increase the likelihood that Pontiac students will attend college and succeed there, Brown said.

“Suddenly, from kindergarten on, college is part of their vocabulary.”

The city and the university have much to offer to each other, both Hynd and Waterman said. Dozens of Oakland University and Pontiac resources were brainstormed in previous meetings held at Welcome Missionary Baptist Church.

Waterman said the collaboration is a “town-and-gown” partnership.

“I’m looking forward to all of the things we can achieve together.”