Oakland University political science professor David A. Dulio will become the Rochester Hills institution's permanent Chief Community Engagement Officer on August 1, after a national search that drew four finalists.

President Ora Hirsch Pescovitz announced the appointment on July 14. Dulio, who held the interim CCEO role since the summer of 2025, will report directly to Pescovitz and serve on her cabinet.

"We were very fortunate to have a deep pool of candidates that produced four very talented and outstanding finalists," said Steve Waterfield, OU's Director of Athletics, who chaired the search committee in partnership with Washington, D.C.-based firm Academic Search.

What Dulio will oversee

The CCEO role puts Dulio in charge of the OU-Pontiac Initiative, which has sent more than 700 Pontiac students to Oakland over the past decade and won the 2023 AASCU Excellence & Innovation Award for Stewards of Place. He also administers the Community Changemaker Challenge Grants, which awarded three grants of up to $200,000 each in February 2026 after evaluating 27 faculty proposals.

During his interim year, Dulio appointed Deidre N. Hurse as the inaugural Community Engagement Faculty Fellow for the 2026-27 academic year and led a public town hall on program achievements.

Dulio's background

Dulio joined Oakland in 2002 as an assistant professor of political science and rose to tenured full professor. He chaired the political science department from 2010 to 2018 and has directed the Center for Civic Engagement since its founding that same year. The Board of Trustees named him distinguished professor of political science in 2023. He holds a Ph.D. from American University and a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan.

Dulio officially assumes the permanent post on August 1, reporting to Pescovitz as part of OU's "Stewards of Place" strategic pathway focused on workforce development, civic literacy, and regional economic partnerships.