President Pescovitz honored with Citizens Research Council of Michigan public service award
Prestigious award recognizes one individual each year for their service to the state on behalf of the citizens of Michigan.
October 02, 2023
Oakland University President Ora Hirsch Pescovitz has been named the 2023 recipient of the Eugene A. Gargaro, Jr. Public Service Award presented by the Citizen’s Research Council of Michigan.
The prestigious award recognizes and lauds one individual each year for their lifetime of service on behalf of the citizens of Michigan.
At a celebration event on September 27, Pescovitz was honored by proclamation as a leader in medicine, academia, civic engagement and community engagement. The group also made note of her commitment to her Jewish values and her unwavering sense of social justice, morality and respect for all people that was instilled by her parents.
The proclamation went on to list in detail her medical and health care achievements and her work in “leading by example” as president of Oakland University to increase students’ academic success, enhance scholarship opportunities and increase community engagement activities on and off campus.
At the same time, they made special note of her dedication in championing civic engagement, her efforts in advancing campus sustainability and for her work in promoting diversity, equity and inclusion.
An example of Pescovitz’s DEI leadership came as a result of her collaborative work on the university’s Strive for 45 floor funding program to improve equity among state universities government funding. She also helped create and is a strong proponent of the Center for Civic Engagement, a campus initiative known for its ability to host constructive public discourse and civic literacy events.
The award is named after Eugene Gargaro, Jr., who served on the Research Council’s Board of Directors from 1996 to 2015, in recognition of his behind the scenes work for the betterment of Michigan, his many years leading efforts to support the Detroit Institute of Arts, and his role in coordinating the “Grand Bargain” that helped to preserve the art collection in the DIA while also minimizing the cuts to civil servant retirees’ pensions and health care as part of the City of Detroit’s 2013 bankruptcy.
Past Gargaro Award Honorees include:
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2017 |
Represented a West Michigan district in the Michigan House of Representatives, where he served as Republican Leader, Co-Speaker, and Speaker of the House; CEO of Detroit Renaissance, CEO of Michigan Health Endowment and board chair for the Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan |
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2018 |
59 years representing a downriver district in the U.S. House of Representatives |
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2019 |
Department of Treasury, Department of Management and Budget, Senate Fiscal Agency, Office of State Employer, State Tax Commission, and Northern Michigan University Board of Trustees |
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2021 |
Michigan Supreme Court Justice, Mayor of the City of Detroit, Western Michigan University Board of Trustees, past president of the American Bar Association |
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2022 |
Michigan Public Relations Trailblazer; Communications Director for Attorney General Dana Nessel, Governor James Blanchard; Partner at Truscott Rossman * |
*2022 Event Posthumously Honoring Kelly Rossman-McKinney
