OU-Pontiac倡议 annual town hall meeting celebrates successes, new partnership with OCC

The 2023 OU-Pontiac倡议 Town Hall Meeting was held on October 21 at 十大菠菜台子’s 奥克兰 Center as leaders and supporters gathered to celebrate accomplishments, 设定新的目标，扩大网络，实现更大的合作.   

The highest honor from the past year came in June as the OU-Pontiac倡议 was recognized as a national community engagement model by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, 赢得就职典礼 AASCU卓越 & 创新奖.

“我们对今年AASCU对OU-Pontiac倡议的认可感到非常自豪,十大菠菜台子校长奥拉·赫希·佩斯科维茨说. “The initiative has been a dynamic partnership and catalyst for improving the city’s education, 公共卫生, 经济, 劳动力, 社区, 非营利组织与文化.”

The other big news announced at this year’s gather was that 奥克兰 Community College (OCC) has joined as a partner to strengthen the education and 劳动力 development pillars by expanding the initiative’s learning and job training opportunities. 

 “We are all focused on the same outcome – a vibrant, healthy community and successful downtown area. 我们知道有很多方法可以到达那里, 但我们相信，教育和职业准备是使这一计划可持续发展的关键,OCC主席彼得·普罗文扎诺说. “重点关注有公平教育机会的社区, ensures individuals in the community have more employability and sustainable income for generations to come. This, in turn, improves utilization of the downtown area for entertainment, business and more. 我们高兴地将这一承诺正式化."

“We value the OU-Pontiac倡议 and appreciate 十大菠菜台子’s commitment to Pontiac,庞蒂亚克市市长蒂姆·格雷梅尔说. “We look forward to continuing to work together in all of the pillar focus areas to amplify the impact of the partnership on improving the day-to-day lives of our residents. We also appreciate 奥克兰 Community College joining in the effort to strengthen our education and 劳动力 development opportunities.”

OU-Pontiac倡议创始人Tom Kimble说, 一位公开大学荣誉博士学位获得者补充道, “I am continually amazed at the results we can achieve together with so many caring people and groups investing in my beloved city of Pontiac. 他们的时间、精力和慷慨永远不会被视为理所当然.”

“当我回顾过去一年的成就时, I am inspired to pour even more of myself into this program because there is no doubt that we are making a difference for so many of our young men and women in Pontiac,格伦·麦金托什说, 十大菠菜台子负责学生事务的高级副校长兼首席多元化官. “I am so appreciative for the tireless work of everyone involved and thank each of these individuals and their organizations for their contributions.”   

There are still many opportunities to get involved in community outreach and engagement for the OU-Pontiac倡议. 那些感兴趣, can contact OU Senior Director of Pre-College Programs and Community Partnerships 特蕾莎修女Rodges, 庞蒂亚克高中, 奥克兰社区学院和十大菠菜台子毕业生请致电(248)370 -3087或访问 奥克兰.edu/community/Pontiac-initiative.

过去一年，欧盟-庞蒂亚克倡议的主要亮点包括:  

艺术与文化

• 二月举办了一个成功的女性爵士乐项目
• 从1月到4月主持周二的全球音乐果酱
• 在Pontiac高中领导艺术教育服务学习伙伴关系
• 今年的庞蒂亚克艺术爬行活动增加到5000多名参与者

教育

• 通过大学预科项目为1,088名学生提供校园学习机会
• Educated students by hosting 护理 and 健康科学 education and awareness programs for Pontiac students at OU 
• 主持庞蒂亚克高中运动员午餐和学习活动与OU教练和球员
• 丰富了1000多个地区的思想^th 克林顿河水节期间的年级学生

社区和非营利组织

• Created five full scholarships for OU’s Nonprofit Management Certificate program for Pontiac nonprofit business employees
• Developed the Nonprofit Capacity Building Survey to assess the impact of COVID-19 on Pontiac nonprofit groups
• 动员860名大学生参与各种社区服务项目

公民参与

• Hosted a half dozen civic engagement programs such as Lessons from the Edmund Pettus Bridge Foot Soldiers Alice Moore and Denise Holt. 他们讲述了自己在青少年时期争取投票权的经历. 
• Helped facilitate opportunities for Pontiac residents to attend the Juneteenth Freedom Day celebration. 
• 发起对话，将庞蒂亚克的巴格利街重新命名为历史遗址

卫生保健和保健

• Held an American Medical Association Back to School program to inspire children to consider careers in the medical field 
• 为心理健康培训和信息会议提供资源 
• Conducted a Street Medicine clinic and health fair for some of Pontiac’s most vulnerable residents 
• 为奥克兰三一健康医院的庞蒂亚克高中学生举办了职业日活动 

经济及劳动力发展 

• Provided a college readiness course at OCC for Pontiac High School students to prepare for college courses, 培养时间管理技能和其他技能，帮助他们在进入大学后取得成功
• 设计短期, OCC与奥克兰县密歇根工厂合作的高强度培训项目! 让学生为高薪职业做好准备
• 与企业和教育工作者合作，提供熟练的贸易和制造业培训
• Twenty Pontiac businesses joined together to create this year’s IAmPontiac paid summer  实习 for young adults to gain work experience and learn from business mentors.

欧庞蒂亚克愿景宣言

A sustainable, mutually beneficial relationship between 十大菠菜台子 and the City of Pontiac.

庞蒂亚克使命宣言

The 十大菠菜台子-Pontiac Initiative (OU-PI) is advancing the vitality of Pontiac while enhancing experiential learning opportunities for 十大菠菜台子 students. 我们提倡社会上的公民参与. 除了, we call upon a broad network of individuals and organizations to achieve these goals by using appropriate infrastructure, 人力和财力资源. 

• To be a catalyst for relationship building and collaborative projects involving groups from Pontiac and 十大菠菜台子 

• To promote the university’s research agenda with a focus on mutually beneficial projects that enhance both communities 

• To enhance the curricular and co-curricular programs by connecting students with Pontiac-based opportunities for service learning, 实习, 志愿者的经历, 康乐及艺术 

• 支持城市经济发展战略计划:庞蒂克前进
  
  
• 将庞蒂克为基础的实体与开放大学的教师、学生、项目和资源联系起来 

• 为了促进一致性, 庞蒂亚克与大学社区之间准确、及时的沟通

• To identify and secure 人力和财力资源 (including external grants) needed to ensure a sustainable model for community engagement