About DOI
What is the DOI?
DOI's History
Mission
Program Structure
What is the DOI?
The Detroit Orientation Institute (DOI) is a program at Wayne State University that provides a historical perspective and candid look at the region.
The three-day session welcomes anyone wishing to learn about the city and metro area, especially newcomers. Business executives, professionals from nonprofit organizations, university faculty, government administrators and journalists typically attend.
Background materials, a CD-Rom, meals and transportation are provided for a cost of $900. Registration is limited to 55 and programs are offered each year in spring and fall.
The DOI maintains an intense, fast-paced schedule. Participants are expected to attend all program segments in order to gain maximum benefit from the orientation experience.
DOI's History
The Detroit Orientation Institute (DOI) is a program in the Office of the Provost at Wayne State University (WSU) that educates top-level business, nonprofit and media decision makers about metropolitan Detroit by providing a historical perspective and candid look at the region’s institutions, traditions and issues.
The DOI was created as a result of a recommendation from the 1987 Detroit Strategic Plan, a major project of Detroit Renaissance. One of the action plans was to establish an orientation program to inform business leaders and the media about living and working in Detroit. The creation of the DOI was viewed as a method of providing those new to Detroit a comprehensive, objective view of the city and region with the hope that it would impact their decision-making and that they would portray a similar view to others.
The DOI was formerly housed in Wayne State University’s College of Urban, Labor and Metropolitan Affairs to ensure that an accurate and balanced view of the city be presented. A director was hired in 1990 to design and implement the program. The first session was held in June 1991; the audience consisted of members of the electronic and print media new to Detroit. In 1992, the program was extended to business and community leaders. Since its inception, about 900 people from almost 150 businesses, nonprofit organizations and media outlets have attended the three-day program.
Mission
The Detroit Orientation Institute (DOI) is designed to provide media, business, nonprofit and other professionals who are new to metropolitan Detroit, and others who want to know more about the area, with an understanding of the issues, personalities and events affecting the region. The Institute provides both a historical and regional perspective on the subjects that make up its curriculum.
The primary purpose of the DOI is to offer a realistic view of the area’s issues and to introduce newcomers to a variety of area decision makers. The ultimate goal is to provide accurate information on both the promising aspects and the serious challenges in the region.
Program Structure
DOI three-day programs are held twice a year and feature about fifty university and community experts engaged in panel discussions on a variety of topics. Sessions are held at sites that relate to the subject being addressed. Issues discussed include population demographics and diversity, arts and culture, health care, crime, education, economic development, and politics. In addition, participants receive tours of the city of Detroit – the East Side and West Side -- and some surrounding suburbs. and extensive background information on each subject covered.
Each participant receives a CD-Rom with over 200 pages of background information, which is updated annually, and is written exclusively for the Institute by Wayne State University faculty, local journalists and community experts. A 32-minute video titled “Who Are We? Where Are We? How Did We Get To Be This Way?” provides a sociological history of Detroit and the region as background for the three-day DOI program and is shown in each program’s opening session. The video is based on a script written at WSU and was first produced for the DOI by WDIV-TV4 on a pro bono basis. The updated version currently being shown was produced and revised by WXYZ-TV7, also with no charge to the Institute.
Since the program structure includes travel by bus to various sites, which are limited in size by their particular function, enrollment for each session is limited to 50. More significantly, enrollment is capped at this number to allow for maximum interaction among participants and between participants and speakers. Networking opportunities are a particular benefit of the DOI. Additional sessions are held periodically to meet demand.
On occasion, the DOI conducts customized programs for a particular company or industry. These condensed sessions have been presented to former Mayor Dennis Archer’s Urban Insurance Task Force, State Farm Insurance Companies, the Detroit Renaissance Board of Directors, Comerica Bank and The Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit.