On May 12, the Oakland University community came together to throw pies at directors, provosts and managers. Far from mockery subjects, the pie targets were acclaimed OU VIPs, raising funds for OU scholarships and the Golden Grizzlies Pantry.
“It was such fun, and it brought people together,” Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Kevin Corcoran said. “People come and they’re laughing and they’re smiling and people are taunting one another.”
One of the four pie targets, Dr. Kevin Corcoran, is soon to retire in June from his leadership position as interim Provost. Before his first retirement back in 2021, he was decorated as Pie-Target King before the COVID-19 pandemic for receiving the most pies to the face and raising the most funds for local charities while at it.
“Kevin Corcoran really wanted to go out with a bang or a splash, I guess, and asked if we could revive [the event],” Jean Ann Miller, OSI senior director and event organizer, said. “We did — Kath and I — and [the VIPs] picked the charities of choice, which were all Oakland University-affiliated, that were going to benefit the students.”
Alongside Kath Borg, executive secretary to the dean of University Libraries, Miller has been organizing the “Throw a Pie at an OU VIP” for almost 10 years. The OU Women Employee Resource Group (WERG) first originated the community-building and fundraising event, Miller explained.
“Back in the day, prior to COVID, the Latinx org and WERG used to work together on Cinco de Mayo,” Borg said. “They would help us with the food, and then we would do the pies, and all the money would go to the Hispanic Outreach Center at Pontiac.”
After the pandemic paused the yearly event and with Corcoran returning from retirement, Borg explained that the fundraising evolved to help campus organizations like the Golden Grizzlies Pantry and scholarships.
“All the money’s going back to students,” Borg said. “We made almost $500.”
Hand in hand with the fundraising success, the event organizers explained the impact of community building through the pie throwing contest.
“We want to promote just a sense of belonging and the culture of collaboration supporting the community,” Andreea Bordeianu, CAS Academic Adviser and leader at the WERG, said. “We bring awareness to women’s issues. We also support and offer allyship to all the other employee resource groups, such as the Asian American and Pacific Islander, the black Employee Resource Group International, LGBTQIA and Veterans Organization.”
The WERG is not exclusively for women, Bordeianu explained. While it is led by women, the organization strives to support all workers at OU and foster collaborative spaces with different campus orgs where students, faculty, workers and administrators can meet and encourage camaraderie.
“Across the nation, higher education institutions, we’re under the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion umbrella, and all of these organizations have representatives in the DEI Council,” Bordeianu said. “I say that is one of the things that we feel it’s under attack these days.”
The WERG leader said such hostilities have not been an issue at OU thanks to the community’s commitment to collaboration and appreciation for diversity.
“Our mission still stays true; showing appreciation for culture, bringing awareness of issues, advocating,” Bordeianu said. “Also taking action and supporting what our students stand for, and our staff and faculty and counselors, advisors, everyone; that is something we do every day.”
With a boost of morale and after two hours of receiving whipped cream pies with a smile, Corcoran characterized the event as the kickoff to a new season at OU at the dawn of a semester and his tenure.
“It has always been a nice start to the summer,” Corcoran said. “We’ve got commencement in our rear view mirror, right? And now we’re starting to think about, ‘let’s remember that we’re community.’”
