Oakland Community College
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Presidential Statement on Civic Engagement - Mary Spangler, former Chancellor of Oakland Community College
Oakland Community College is a student-centered institution which provides high quality learning opportunities and services for individuals, communities and organizations on an accessible, affordable basis.
That is our mission, and it involves not only teaching our students the subjects and skills necessary to transfer to four-year schools, find employment, or upgrade current job abilities, but also connecting our students to the life of their communities and preparing them to be active and engaged citizens. Along with effective communication skills, the abilities to think critically and creatively and solve problems analytically, OCC students are encouraged to develop a strong commitment to social responsibility, understand the global environment, and appreciate diversity and commonality. One of the surest ways to nurture these attributes is to provide avenues for volunteerism, new cultural experiences, and formal Service Learning.
For more than forty years, OCC has been a college that seeks new ways to serve our community. We have offered mature learners in Oakland County access to Study Circles, Speakers’ Forums, and a variety of special events through the Adult Learning Institute, an affiliate of the Elderhostel program. We support the highly successful Pontiac Summer Program, an effort that brings high school students from the nearby Pontiac School District to our Auburn Hills campus during the summer to improve academic skills and prepare themselves for college after graduation. And in partnership with Oakland Schools and the Oakland County Library Board, we provide basic reading and English language instruction to adults in our community through Oakland Literacy Council services.
Now, by joining colleges and universities across the state with similar interests in Michigan Campus Compact, we’re ready to begin a new tradition of civic engagement through building opportunities for community service directly into our courses and programs. We recognize the power of Service Learning to enrich our students’ experiences by demonstrating the relevance of their academic work in the world outside, increasing their awareness of societal issues, broadening their perspectives on diversity topics, and promoting effective interpersonal and collaboration skills.
We support Service Learning as a means of providing our community with human resources to meet the myriad needs of non-profits, civic groups, health and human services agencies, and other organizations working to improve our communities. At the same time, we understand how Service Learning experiences can foster an ethic of service and civic participation in students—who will one day be our community’s business owners, board members and citizens; and we acknowledge the value of Service Learning to the college as a means of extending the campus into the community and supporting our institutional mission.
Oakland Community College is dedicated to these efforts to promote civic engagement among our students, faculty and staff in pursuit of healthy, vibrant and sustainable communities everywhere.