Cook Family Foundation

The University of Michigan is not only located in Ann Arbor, it also has campuses in Dearborn and Flint.  For 40 years the Cook Family Foundation has provided scholarships to Shiawassee area students attending UM in Ann Arbor; starting this academic year, the Foundation will also assist academically accomplished students from local high schools to enroll at UM-Flint and UM-Dearborn.  These campuses are strong institutions of higher learning in their own right, but they are also alternate pathways to a degree from University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.

To explain the opportunities of education at UM-Flint, a ZOOM session will be held the evening of February 9.  Contact us or UM-Flint admissions staff (John Amboy 810-762-3302) to register for the event.  Previously, the Foundation hosted a ZOOM session for prospective students with representatives from all three campuses explained the advantages of their respective schools as well as answered questions about how to apply, afford, and transfer to and from each of the campuses.  You can request a recorded version of this workshop.

The Cook Family Foundation is committed to providing a scholarship of $3,000 to any Shiawassee area student who is admitted to Ann Arbor or meets the criteria for Honors College at UM-Dearborn or UM-Flint.  In order to be eligible for a scholarship, you must fill out an application with the Cook Family Family.  See our webpage for more information.

Perhaps the most important advantage of attending UM-Flint or UM-Dearborn is that credits easily transfer between those schools and UM-Ann Arbor, and no matter where a student starts or finally graduates within the system, their degree carries the important block M indicating they are a graduate of the University of Michigan.  Each campus has unique degree programs, courses, extracurricular and educational advantages that may appeal to a particular student. Prospective students should look at the offerings at each campus.

The cost of attending college may vary from campus to campus as well.  While each student has their own unique financial circumstances, each campus has different tuition rates, financial aid and scholarships, so attending one school may be more affordable than another.  The proximity of UM-Flint to Shiawassee County also allows a student to live at home and thus forgo room and board expenses at one of the other campuses.

A peaceful crowd of 200 protestors on June 6 in front of Owosso City Hall

Racism is buried deep in America, touching us all, whether we acknowledge it or not.  In 2013, the Cook Family Foundation moved to new offices in a historic downtown Owosso building.  We appreciated the unique architectural appearance, high ceilings, and tall windows.  Little did we know that the building that housed our offices had, in the 1920s, also been the location of the state headquarters of the Ku Klux Klan.

The KKK, an anti-catholic, anti-immigrant group, openly promoted white supremacy and more covertly sought to harass and oppress black people.  Sadly, it was only one of several racist chapters in Owosso’s history that included the forceful eviction of black residents in 1871, the development of the reputation as a “sundown town”, and the daytime visit by a young Malcom X to what his father called “white city.” 

Of course the Cook Family Foundation is not directly part of this legacy, and the Ku Klux Klan no longer has a presence in Shiawassee County.  Recently, several hundred residents joined in a peaceful protest in Owosso against racially motivated police brutality.  But now a question persists: what can we do as a community to overcome the racial biases that are part of our country?  How can we create organizations and a community that celebrates diversity, practices inclusion, and promotes equity? 

As a starting point, the Cook Family Foundation held a workshop on July 14 to help community organizations begin to examine their structure, purposes, and organization to achieve goals of racial and social equity.  The session, presented by Nonprofit Network, helped attendees understand the goals of diversity (the who), inclusion (the how) and equity (the what) as they apply to their organization.  Diversity is more than race, and equity is more than equal treatment; inclusion is “the process of valuing all individuals and leveraging their diverse talent, not in spite of their differences, but because of them.”

This is a start, but no single workshop, protest, or new policy statement will alone overcome the systems of racism, inequity, and bias that underly our community and country.  We believe that our local nonprofit organizations, which have a strong history of service in many areas of community life, can help lead the changes necessary to a more open community that creates opportunity for all.  The Cook Family Foundation has a long-standing commitment to collaboration and helping nonprofits, agencies, and organizations come together to create positive change in our community.

Because income disparities can be as much a barrier as prejudice, we will continue to work with the United Way and other organizations that seek to help those most in economic need. In September, we will be offering a training on “Bridges Out of Poverty” to provide the awareness and tools to comprehensively address the systems which place too many of our neighbors at an economic disadvantage.  We always welcome requests from local nonprofits for help as they take steps to address both racial and economic injustice in Shiawassee County.