Cleveland State University

Cleveland State University (also known as Cleveland State or CSU) is a public university located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. It was established in 1964 when the state of Ohio assumed control of Fenn College and absorbed the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1969. Today it is part of the University System of Ohio, has more than 100,000 alumni, and offers over 200 academic programs. Its mission is to "encourage excellence, diversity, and engaged learning by providing a contemporary and accessible education in the arts, sciences, humanities and professions, and by conducting research, scholarship, and creative activity across these branches of knowledge."

History

Cleveland State University: 5 Minute Visit - An online virtual tour of the CSU campus, includes student and professor interviews.

• 1870: Cleveland YMCA offered free classes
• 1881: YMCA program formalized
• 1906: Reorganized as the Association Institute and later the Cleveland Y.M.C.A. School of Technology
• 1923: The claimed founding date of what would become Fenn College. First classes towards a bachelor's degree offered. It was originally claimed as 1881.
• 1929: Renamed Fenn College after Sereno Peck Fenn. Fenn College took over several buildings in the area including Fenn Tower, Stilwell Hall, and Foster Hall.
• 1964: The state of Ohio founded The Cleveland State University
• 1965: On August 1, 1965 CSU assumed Fenn College.

Industrialist James J. Nance served as Chair of the first Board of Trustees. The name would later be changed to Cleveland State University.

President Michael Schwartz ended open admissions and implemented a vision to move from a U.S. News & World Report fourth tier university to a second tier university.

Presidents

Fenn College

Cleveland State University

Board of Trustees

The Cleveland State University Board consists of nine trustees, a Secretary to the Board, two faculty representatives, and two student representatives. The board members, along with the University President, are charged with fulfilling the goals set forth in the University Mission Statement as well as acting as the governing body in all policy matters of the University requiring attention. In January 2006 the Board of Trustees amended their bylaws so that they could restructure board committees as well as include Community members on the Board. Community members serve as non-voting advisers and are appointed by the Board Chairman for a term approved by the Board.

Board of Trustees Member Listing

• Ronald M. Berkman, President
• Robert H. Rawson, Chair
• Bernardo "Bernie" F. Moreno, Vice Chair
• Thomas W. Adler, Development Officer
• Morton Q. Levin, Treasurer
• Richard L. Bowen, Trustee
• David H. Gunning II, Esq., Trustee
• Dan T. Moore III, Trustee
• June E. Taylor, Trustee
• Ronald E. Weinberg, Trustee
• Paul E. DiCorleto, PhD., Community Board Member
• Anand "Bill" Julka, Community Board Member
• Stephen F. Kirk, Community Board Member
• Stephen F. Duffy, PhD., Faculty Representative
• Joanne E. Goodell, PhD., Faculty Representative
• Allison J. Dumski, Student Trustee
• David I. Pendleton, Student Trustee

Colleges and academics

CSU offers many disciplines and research facilities, with 70 academic majors, 27 master's degree programs, two post-master's degrees, six doctoral degrees, and two law degrees. It also has research cooperation agreements with the nearby NASA Glenn Research Center.

In 1965, when The Cleveland State University was formed the colleges were the Fenn College of Engineering (now the Washkewicz College of Engineering), the colleges of business administration, arts and sciences and education. The University is currently organized around nine academic colleges:

The Division of University Studies focuses on academic support services, and the Division of Continuing Education extends academic services beyond the campus.

Notable programs include the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs, whose city management and urban policy program is ranked 2nd in the country by U.S. News and World Report, as well as the recently formed School of Communication, ranked 8th in research productivity and as the top terminal MA-granting program in the United States overall. The Monte Ahuja College of Business is also highly regarded and is ranked in the top ten nationwide in performance of its Certified Public Accountant graduate students. Additionally, CSU is the first university in Ohio to offer a master's degree in software engineering.

Cleveland-Marshall College of Law

The Clevelandâ€"Marshall College of Law traces its origins to the founding of Cleveland Law School in 1897. One of the most famous alumni of the Clevelandâ€"Marshall College of Law was Tim Russert, host of television program Meet the Press, who graduated in 1976.

Research

With $55 million in annual research and development expenditures, CSU ranks among the top 20 percent of universities in the United States for research and development, according to the National Science Foundation. Cleveland State maintains a variety of research links with the Cleveland community. The following are the University's featured research collaborations:

• Bio Ohio
• Case Western Reserve University
• Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute
• Cleveland MetroHealth Medical Center
• Council for International Exchange of Scholars (Fulbright Scholar Program)
• NASA Glenn Research Center
• Great Lakes Science Center
• Museum of Natural History
• International Space University
• Internet2
• Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine
• Ohio Department of Education
• Ohio Instrumentation, Controls & Electronics (ICE)
• Ohio Supercomputer Center

Notable faculty and alumni

Faculty

• Shuvo Roy, Inventor of Artificial kidney
• Angelin Chang, Grammy-award winning classical pianist and professor of music, is also a graduate of the university's Cleveland-Marshall College of Law
• Michael Dumanis, Russian-American poet and Director of the Cleveland State University Poetry Center
• Thomas W. Hungerford, mathematician and author of many textbooks including Abstract algebra: an introduction
• Imad Rahman, Pakistani-American writer and author of I Dream of Microwaves
• Robert P Schumaker, creator of the AZFinText system of stock market trading.
• Chas Smith (1957â€"2007), author, musician, radio personality, music professor.
• Camilla Stivers, Distinguished Professor of Public Administration
• Jearl Walker, author of The Flying Circus of Physics and physics professor
• Phillip J. Wanyerka, professor of Anthropology, Mayan hieroglyphics epigrapher, and leading expert in southern Belize Mayan texts.
• Peter Dunham, professor of Anthropology, Archaeologist, formed and headed the Maya Mountains Project.
• Stephen Taysom, professor of Philosophy and Comparative Religion, author of "Shakers, Mormons, and Religious Worlds," and an expert in the theory and method in the academic study of religion.

Coaching staff

• Paul Graham, Head Swimming Coach
• Gary Waters, Basketball Coach

Notable alumni

Government

• Nickie Antonio, member of the Ohio House of Representatives
• Frank D. Celebrezze Jr., Ohio Court of Appeals Judge
• Ed Feighan (J.D., 1978), U.S. Congressman
• Dan Huberty, member of the Texas House of Representatives from Houston
• Frank G. Jackson, Mayor of the City of Cleveland
• Dick Lillie (J.D., 1979), U.S. District Attorney, Common Pleas Judge, and partner Lillie and Holderman Law Firm
• Donald C. Nugent, (J.D., 1974) Federal District Court Judge
• Maureen O'Connor, (J.D., 1980), Current Ohio Supreme Court Justice
• Terrence O'Donnell, (J.D., 1971), Current Ohio Supreme Court Justice
• Shawn Richards, member of the National Assembly of Saint Kitts and Nevis
• Carlos Songini 1979 Men's Épée NCAA Fencing Champion
• Carl B. Stokes, (J.D., 1956), first African American mayor of a major U.S. city (Cleveland)
• Louis Stokes, (J.D., 1953), 15-term Democratic Congressman.
• Francis E. Sweeney Sr., (J.D., 1963), Former Ohio Supreme Court Justice.
• Lesley B. Wells (J.D., 1974), Federal District Court Judge
• Cheryl L. Waite, (J.D., 1985), Ohio Court of Appeals judge

Steven LaTourette, (J.D.) US Congressman

Sports

• Johnny Bedford (attended), wrestler; professional Mixed Martial Artist, currently for the Ultimate Fighting Championship
• Manute Bol, former NBA basketball player
• J'Nathan Bullock, professional basketball player
• M-Dogg 20/Matt Cross (B.A. 2006), real name Matthew Capiccioni, Professional wrestler
• Norris Cole, NBA basketball player
• Jerry Dybzinski, former professional baseball player
• Franklin Edwards, former professional basketball player
• Gerald Harris (fighter) (History), all time record for wins on the wrestling team; current professional mixed martial arts fighter
• Cedric Jackson, NBA basketball player
• Stipe Miocic (Communications/Marketing), baseball player; professional MMA fighter, current UFC Heavyweight contender
• Clinton Smith, former NBA basketball player

Darren Tillis, former NBA basketball player

Other

• Chris Ronayne, President of University Circle Inc.
• Scott Raab, (B.A., 1984), Writer, Esquire Magazine
• Tim Russert, (J.D., 1976), Author, NBC Washington bureau chief, moderator of NBC's Meet the Press
• ITSPHYRE, (B.A. 2003), rapper

Avery Friedman (J.D.) Civil Rights Attorney, CNN Legal Analyst

Location, campus, and community

CSU's main campus in downtown Cleveland is bounded on the east and west by Interstate 90 and East 17th Street, respectively; and by Payne Avenue to the north and Carnegie Avenue on the south. It also has a satellite campus in Westlake, Ohio which is located in the Greater Cleveland metropolitan area in Cuyahoga County. As of spring 2013, the combined student body (undergraduate and graduate students) totaled over 17,000.

Campus Expansion

In 2006, Cleveland State University completed its state-of-the-art student Recreation Center, and a renovation of Parker Hannifan Hall for the College of Graduate Studies.

In 2009, CSU unveiled a long-term plan to make the campus more amenable to residence and increase the number of students living on campus by building thousands of housing units, anchored by a new dormitory, Fenn Tower, a reuse of the school's most historic building. Fenn Tower formerly housed what was at one time the longest Foucault pendulum in the world. However, because the pendulum had been inoperative since 1980 it was removed during the residence hall renovation in 2006. The pendulum is currently kept in the Cleveland State University archives.

The university worked with private developers and the City of Cleveland to develop housing, retail, and "collegetown" amenities around Fenn Tower, particularly along the main thoroughfare of Euclid Avenue. In 2010, Euclid Avenue was upgraded as part of the Euclid Corridor Project which brought bus rapid transit to the university and connected Public Square in downtown Cleveland to University Circle, approximately four miles to the east. Cleveland State University's $65 million construction project, intended to transform the campus from a mostly commuter school into a residential campus, included the new Student Center and Julka Hull, which houses the College of Education and School of Nursing. Both projects were finished in 2010.

In 2011, the new Euclid Commons dorms complex, which features apartment-style living for CSU students, opened. That same year, the university's Dramatic Arts Program moved into the renovated Middough Building and Allen Theatre at Playhouse Square Center in collaboration with the Cleveland Play House.

In 2012, CSU opened the Galleries At CSU on Euclid Avenue. Also in 2012, Cleveland State University partnered with the South China University of Technology allowing students to complete their education and receive joint degrees. During the fall semester of 2012, the first phase of the private Langston apartment and retail complex opened along Chester Avenue across from Rhodes Tower. In the spring semester of 2013, the former Viking Hall dormitory was torn down to make way for the university's new Center for Health Professions.

Student media

The campus' student-run radio station, 89.3 WCSB-FM, has a 630-Watt transmitter on top of Rhodes Tower (formerly called University Tower). Additionally, Cleveland State is served in print by The Cauldron, an independent student newspaper, The Cleveland Stater, a laboratory newspaper in the School of Communication, The Vindicator, and The Gavel which won the 2005 American Bar Association's -Student Division's first prize for the best law school newspaper in the country. There is no student television station at this time, though the university offers a film production and video production major with courses through its Digital Video Communication Center.

Information technology

CSU is a member of the OneCommunity (formerly OneCleveland) computer network, an initiative of Case Western Reserve University that connects nonprofit institutions throughout Northeast Ohio, allowing large scale collaborations over a high-speed fiber optic network.

Athletics

When the school was still known as Fenn College, the sports teams' nickname was the Foxes. When the University was renamed Cleveland State, the nickname changed as well, and CSU's sports teams became the "Vikings". That nickname stands to this day. The school colors are forest green and white. For many years the school mascot was the comic strip character Hägar the Horrible along with his wife Helga, and the couple appeared at sporting events as well as on University literature. A new mascot, "Vike" was introduced in 1997 and Hagar was gradually phased out by 1998. Another new mascot named "Magnus" was introduced in August 2007.

Cleveland State fields varsity teams in seventeen sports. Most of the teams compete in the Horizon League. The men's basketball team was noteworthy in 1986 when seeded 14th in the NCAA tournament, it upset heavily favored 3-seed Indiana and St. Joseph's before being beaten by Navy by one point, an unprecedented achievement for such a low seed. The Vikes made yet another NCAA tournament appearance in 2009, upsetting the highly favored 4th seeded Wake Forest before falling to the University of Arizona in the second round. The school also fields a wrestling team that competes in the Eastern Wrestling League.

Fielding a football team

On October 14, 2008 CSU President Michael Schwartz stated "he wants a blue ribbon panel to give him a recommendation on the football team before July 1, 2009, when he is scheduled to retire. He also said the program will have to be structured to pay for itself."

The Football establishment issue became an official item on the Cleveland State University, Student Government Association election ballot. From Monday April 12 at 12:01 AM until Friday April 14 the student body voted on the issue. By Friday evening, the results indicated that 68.7% of the student population favored establishment of a football team. Furthermore, the student body was asked if they were willing to pay a fee for Division I non-scholarship football in addition to any potential future tuition increases that may be instituted by the University. The student body responded with 55.6% of the vote being no.

School songs

See also

• Krenzler Field
• Wolstein Center

References

External links

• Official website