The Community House brings back the Grand Gala

BIRMINGHAM — This spring, The Community House will hold its Grand Gala, where they will recognize Oakland University President Ora Hirsch Pescovitz as the Grand Honoree.

The Grand Gala will take place on Friday, April 11 at The Community House, located at 380 S. Bates St. in Birmingham.

“My philosophy is learn, earn and return,” Pescovitz said.

She shared that when she was young, she was focused on learning and becoming educated. Then, once she started working, it was time to earn. Now, she finds herself in the stage of her career where it is time to return by giving back to the community.

In addition to being the president of Oakland University, Pescovitz, is a pediatric endocrinologist. She said she has spent over 40 years as a physician, directly addressing the health of the community.

“If individuals aren’t healthy, the communities aren’t healthy,” Pescovitz said.

She serves on the boards of Priority Health, the Detroit Economic Club and the Horizon League. She is also a member of the NCAA Division I board of directors.

Other roles have included being the immediate past chair of the Michigan Association of State Universities, co-chair of the Detroit Drives Degrees Leadership Council and chair-elect of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities.

As president, she promotes educational opportunities on and off campus.

“We are really invested in the success of our students, and in particular their upward social mobility, where our primary responsibility as a university is not only to ensure their educational success, but then to ensure that when they graduate, our students then contribute mightily to the success and vibrancy of the local community through our graduates, and that includes through the success of the community’s culture, the success of our community’s health and the success of our community’s economy,” Pescovitz said.

 

Embodying the pillars of vibrancy
This is the first Grand Gala since 2015. When the event was previously held, a Grand Honoree was chosen, as is the case this year.

Camille Jayne, interim board chair and chief of revitalization at The Community House, said, “We chose an honoree who really exemplified the four pillars that we have, which are education, culture, wellness and philanthropy. They are always amazing, wonderful people, but the main reason that we chose them is that they really believed in our mission as a nonprofit. Our mission is to impact lives through exceptional educational, cultural and social experiences that provide the means to raise money to pay for outreach programs that help others.”

When Pescovitz found out that she was named the Grand Honoree, she said she was “extremely honored and humbled,” but also a little surprised.

“I don’t really feel that I’m deserving of the award,” Pescovitz said. “There are so many amazing people in our community that are, in my mind, more deserving than I am. So I have to say I was blown away when I heard from Camille Jayne that I’m the Grand Honoree.”

 

Aligning values
Pescovitz said this recognition means the world to her because of the way she feels about The Community House and its impact on the community. She said she spent her career focusing on the same pillars valued by The Community House.

“I honestly can’t think of a better example of anybody who embodies our four pillars,” Jayne said.

Pescovitz said that when she first came to Michigan in 2009 and became the University of Michigan’s executive vice president for medical affairs and health system CEO, “I first learned about how deeply involved The Community House is through their programming, their classes, their camps, their childhood center and the positive impact that they have all over southeast Michigan.”

She has previously spoken at The Community House as a part of a Women of Influence Lecture Series and was honored as a Pillar of Vibrancy Honoree in 2020.

Pescovitz recognized Oakland University’s community engagement contributions.

“We really overlap in terms of mission and purpose, in terms of how we intersect in trying to make our community better,” Pescovitz said.

The Grand Gala is open to the public. Tickets are $300 per person or $2,000 for a table of eight.

For more information, visit communityhousehelps.org.