By TIM RATH and COLLEEN MILLER

Web Editor and Managing Editor

Last week, The Oakland Post sat down with Virinder Moudgil, Oakland University’s senior vice president for academic affairs and provost of academic affairs. Moudgil talked about the growth and direction of OU, which highlight the university’s commitment and influence on the local economy. 

On OU’s impact to the local economy

“Oakland was always community oriented but the extent and the depth of that involvement is highest now.

“For example, when Oakland University started we had the culture outlets such as Meadow Brook Music Festival, Meadow Brook Theatre … But it was basically driven on its own. There was no proactive approach until our president, [Dr. Gary] Russi, took over … Plus the economic time we are living in now actually demands that we do that.

We cannot be asking the state and our donors and our friends ‘give us more money give us more scholarships,’ you’ve got to return something to the community … [It] is very important for us to understand that Oakland does better than most, if not all, universities — 87 percent of our graduates live and work and serve this state … Which means the Michigan taxpayer is benefiting from the support that comes from tax dollars to Oakland, by returning it back to the community.

“So these graduates they work, they raise families, they pay taxes, they buy homes, groceries [and contribute to the state’s] economic development.”

On growth and bringing in new faculty

“We welcomed over 40 faculty last year, about the same number this year and this includes new and replacements, some that are retiring we obviously replaced them …

“Oakland continues to grow, both in student body and faculty. And this allows us to keep our student-faculty ratio at a desired level and maintain big campus opportunity and small campus environment. Students can interact, professors are available for consult, to go to lunch with, that is one thing other universities may lack.”

On fulfilling community needs

“Well we have multiple projects, [only one] has been funded, others are in the development … [The Human Health Building] will house both School of Nursing and School of Science, which have grown more aggressively than any other unit on our campus. And this also reflects a very interesting trend in Michigan and state economy…

Many of our faculty and students actually have researched projects at Chrysler or GM and a number of our faculty do internships … faculty work with [automakers] directly to solve the [current engineering] problems …

“Then we have multiple programs of trying to engage the displaced workers from auto or other industries … Our school of nursing has launched … an accelerated nursing program — if you have a bachelors degree in arts, journalism, biology, whatever, they make you a nurse in one year … Here, in one year you are re-trained to get into a profession which I believe no one is unemployed … [Another] reason we have a shortage of nurses is because there [aren’t enough] educators. So we started a doctoral program in nursing which is the first online doctoral program in the state …

“Then there are other programs, School of Nursing and business administration are planning to engage displaced workers or to reeducate and retool them in other disciplines … For example, we have just learned that 75 percent of the displaced workers in Chrysler have a bachelor degree, which means Oakland University becomes a great resource for them to train into a master or bachelor programs …

“So these are some of the multiple ways in Oakland believes we need to give back to the community. We’ve got to engage in this effort to re-energize the economic state of Michigan.”