Meet Glenn McIntosh—Executive Council Member and SVP of Student Affairs & Chief Diversity Officer at Oakland University

“Time, talent, or treasure—we call them the 3 T’s—whatever you can spare, that’s what we need to help make Pontiac thrive,” Glenn McIntosh smiles broadly. After working in the Pontiac community for over thirty years, he has experienced its many ebbs and flows, and he knows that the region’s varied history speaks to the resilience of its people.

“Pontiac was a major stop on the Underground Railroad, so a community sprung up to support that, and then, with the auto industry, we were really thriving,” he notes. “When that industry changed, we started to struggle, and it has taken some time for us to find our footing again. But I haven’t seen this level of optimism in the community in over 15 years.”

Glenn’s focus has been primarily on educational initiatives, and he believes this is where Pontiac has had both its biggest challenges—but also its biggest opportunities, since education is key to upward mobility. “Some of the systemic issues that we’re seeing at a national level—economic, educational, and health disparities, inequality, lack of access to a social support system—that plays out in Pontiac at the local level,” Glenn explains. “So it gives us a real opportunity to make a meaningful difference, taking a smaller community and developing a more integrated way of addressing these challenges—it’s why this partnership is so important.”

What’s Glenn Doing?
“I’m passionate about healthy living, and so Pontiac’s Farmer’s Market is one of my favorite places to be on the weekends.
“It opens in the spring and then runs through October, and I love stopping by each week to visit with local vendors, pick up fresh produce, and feel that community spirit.”

While there is a financial component to the value that the Pontiac Collective Impact Partnership brings, it’s the intellectual capital that Glenn believes will have the most benefit. “By bringing everyone together, we’re learning more about the work each of us are doing, so we can work collaboratively to have a greater footprint and impact.” 

In fact, that’s what Glenn hopes to achieve as part of the Executive Council. “I think we have laid the groundwork, and now I’m working with people that I mentored twenty years ago, so that’s exciting,” he shares. “I look at the collective impact model, what it can do for us as a community, and I’m inspired.”

Would you like to join us in our work? Contact us to join our Community Advisory Board.