Apart from Oakland University’s Human Health Building, another project has been in the works. A former office building in Mount Clemens has undergone major redevelopment to become OU’s Anton/Frankel Center, which will provide education to over 500 students away from the main

campus in Oakland County.

The building was given to OU as a gift from developers and entrepreneurs Gebran Anton and Stuart Frankel in early 2010. The building had to be renovated from business offices into classrooms.

 

New classrooms, technology

Inside the new building, there are 11 classrooms, two conference rooms, administrative space, faculty offices and an education and community outreach center.

“The campus has been great — it is quite cozy. The facilities are new, the free Wi-Fi the campus offers has been fast and reliable, and the location is convenient,” Carey Fitzgerald, special lecturer in psychology at the AFC, said.

According to Betty Youngblood, executive director of OU-Macomb, the furniture in the classrooms and the technology, such as Wi-Fi and projectors, around the building are also brand new.

Youngblood said the classroom tools at the satellite campus are identical to the technology and equipment available on main campus.

“Like the teaching stations that you have here (at the main campus) in many of the classrooms, the professors can project information or they can go out on the Internet,” she said.

 

Community outreach

Since the building is located in the heart of downtown Mount Clemens, the community and area businesses have been reaching out to OU and its students. Many businesses in the vicinity are offering OU students and staff discounts.

“The community has been overwhelmingly welcoming,” Julie Trube, director of enrollment and community outreach at OU-Macomb, said. “We actually have been working with the community to implement a student discount program, so we have 34 businesses in the Mount Clemens area that are offering discounts, not only to students – staff, faculty and alumni of Oakland University.”

“The city of Mount Clemens is extremely happy to have us there,” Youngblood said. If you put on an OU shirt, and you walk down the street, you get all kinds of attention.”

The location has also been a chance for students to explore the city of Mount Clemens.

“It is the campus and town link you find in many universities,” Charles Spurlock, special lecturer in

sociology and anthropology at the AFC, said. Just outside our campus you can find county administration buildings and around the corner pedestrian walkways between several businesses.”

Currently, the campus can only offer individual classes, but that will eventually change.

 

New opportunities

The school itself is currently going through an accreditation process through the North Central Association, Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. OU doesn’t anticipate any issues with this process, but after it is complete, the university will be able to offer full programs at the

center.

“Once we hear back from (NCA) then we are able to offer programs … and make announcements about programs because right now, we have courses,” Youngblood said. “Younger students could go there (the AFC) as a freshman and perhaps take everything there – if not everything, close to it.”

Youngblood indicated that the AFC employees will eventually be reaching out to students to see what classes they are most interested taking, and what hours would be the most convenient.

 

Flexible scheduling

One misconception about the AFC has been that it is only a night school.

“Some people think the AFC is primarily a night operation, but we’ve offered, in the spirit of kind of experimenting, you might say, we’ve offered classes all the way from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m. and we have some very strong day classes,” Youngblood said.

According to both Trube and Youngblood, the campus opening has gone better than expected. Youngblood said the only issue that the campus encountered was the fact some students didn’t know the AFC was in Mount Clemens.

“We literally contacted every student, but still there was some confusion and that’s understandable … I think the problem will kind of take care of itself. Students will be more familiar, advisors will be more familiar,” Youngblood said.

The reaction from students and staff to the AFC is an indicator of the project’s

approval.

“The students are reacting positively to the new campus, many have expressed how happy they are with the location as well,” Fitzgerald said. “This smaller satellite campus seems to be a calming alternative to the hustle and bustle that can occur on a

weekday morning on the main campus.”

Students can currently register for winter classes at the AFC. Some classes are still in the process of being added to the schedule.

For more information on the

Anton/Frankel Center, visit

oakland.edu/afc