Oakland University awards three Community Changemaker Challenge Grants to advance local impact

Oakland University will fund three high-impact projects through its Community Changemaker Challenge Grant program, expanding its original plan to support two initiatives following a competitive campus-wide review.

The Community Changemaker Challenge Grant Selection Committee - composed of Amy Banes-Bercelli, vice provost in the Provost's Office; Meaghan Barry, associate professor in the College of Arts and Sciences; Nicholas DiPucchio, assistant professor in the College of Arts and Sciences; David Dulio, distinguished professor in the College of Arts and Sciences and interim chief community engagement officer; Paul Fontaine from the Research Office; Jennifer Lucarelli, associate professor in the School of Health Sciences; Teresa Rodges of the OU-Pontiac Initiative; David Stone, vice president for research; and David Strubler, professor in the School of Education and Human Services - evaluated 27 proposals representing disciplines from chemistry to art and art history and from engineering to education.

The proposals addressed pressing community challenges, including drug overdose detection, math literacy, environmental health and nonprofit capacity building.

"The committee was very impressed with all of the applications," said Dulio. "They collectively represent what community engagement at Oakland looks like and what it can be in terms of creating impact in the surrounding communities and great benefits for our faculty and students.

DiPucchio echoed that sentiment.

"All of the proposals reflect a deep commitment by Oakland and its community partners' strong commitment to creating meaningful, sustainable change in both the immediate and the long-term future," he said.

"There were three projects, however, that stood above the rest," Dulio continued. "The committee sees these projects as examples of what President Pescovitz was looking for when she made this funding available. Each identifies a community problem to address, partially solve or solve; includes benefits for OU students and faculty; will lead to significant measurable impact; and involves community partners throughout the project."

Although two awards were originally planned, the committee identified three projects that clearly rose to the top. Each defines a specific community problem, demonstrates measurable impact, integrates students into hands-on learning, and involves community partners throughout the work.

"What is special about the projects that were selected is they embody the key principles of community engagement, such as being co-developed and led with community partners, and will provide experiential learning opportunities for many students," Lucarelli said.

"The three selected projects empower our students to see themselves as members of a broader community and to understand that their Oakland experience extends well beyond the classroom," DiPucchio added.

With support from the Research Office - which is providing five Graduate Research Assistant Tuition (GReAT) awards - along with modest budget adjustments by principal investigators and one-time funding from the Office of Community Engagement, all three projects will move forward without additional institutional investment. The decision was unanimous.

"The launch of this initiative shows tangible evidence of Oakland University's commitment to community engagement," Lucarelli added. "It's not just words in a mission statement or strategic vision, community engagement is being uplifted and integrated into our priorities and operations with this significant financial investment."

The first project, "Elevating Local Community-Based Independent Living with Internet of Robotic Things (IoRT) for Individualswith Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IwIDD)," is led by W. Geoffrey Louie, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the School of Engineering and Computer Science (SECS). The interdisciplinary initiative combines engineering and social work to improve independent living outcomes for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.