Novi Board of Education Vice President Appointed to Oakland County School Boards Association

—Submitted by Novi Community Schools

Dennis O’Connor, vice president of the Novi Board of Education, was appointed as trustee on the Oakland County School Boards Association (OCSBA) Board of Directors on Jan. 25. O’Connor replaces Marc Katz, a 22-year Berkley school board member, who retired in December.

The OCSBA is the Oakland County Chapter of the Michigan Association of School Boards. The purpose of the OCSBA is to advance the quality of public education in Oakland County through the cooperative efforts of locally-elected boards of education. The OCSBA also promotes high standards in providing educational programs and services to meet the needs of all students.

In addition to his duties on the Novi School Board, O’Connor also serves as a trustee on the Novi Educational Foundation (NEF). He received a fellowship from the Michigan Political Leadership Program in 2010. He became a “Certified Board Member” in 2009, and earned the “Award of Merit” in 2010 from the Michigan Association of School Boards (MASB).

O’Connor, a 20-year resident in the , was elected to the Novi Board of Education in 2008. Prior to that, he served on numerous school district committees and organizations including:

• 2004-2010 Member, Novi Community Education Advisory
• 2007 Member, School Bond Proposal Citizens’ Committee
• 2006 Member, School Utilization & Redistricting Committee
• 2004-2005 Member, Long Range Planning Committee
• 1998-2004 Vice President and Publicity Director, Novi Athletic Boosters
• 1998-2004 Member, Novi High School Band Boosters

O’Connor owns a marketing/training consulting agency in Novi. Prior to that, he was a divisional vice president for Maritz Communications Company in Detroit. He began his career in the newspaper industry as a reporter and editor for the Observer & Eccentric Newspapers, a parent company of the The Novi News. O’Connor is a 1979 graduate at the University of Michigan, where he earned Secondary Teaching Certification in journalism and mathematics. O’Connor earned a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from Wayne State University, majoring in marketing and management. He has two daughters who graduated from Novi High School in 2002 and 2004.