www.csuohio.edu/commencement

Cleveland State University’s spring commencement ceremonies will be Saturday, May 16, at 10:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. at the Bert L. and Iris S. Wolstein Center, 2000 Prospect Ave.

The morning ceremony will be for graduates of the Fenn College of Engineering, College of Science, and College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. The afternoon ceremony will be for graduates of the Nance College of Business Administration, College of Education and Human Services, and the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs.

Both ceremonies will be preceded by a processional of graduates and faculty, beginning at 9:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. At both ceremonies, individual graduates will be recognized by name as they cross the stage and receive their diplomas. Ph.D. and doctoral graduates will be hooded on stage.

Six honorary degrees will be awarded. In the morning, Roger B. Manning, Ph.D., Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer of the Supreme Court of Ohio and Les Roberts will receive Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degrees. In the afternoon, Lawrence J. Dolan will receive an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree and Ellis Yan and Kent W. Clapp (posthumous) will receive Honorary Doctor of Business Administration degrees.

Roberts will deliver the commencement address at the morning ceremony and President Michael Schwartz will deliver the address in the afternoon.

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Roger B. Manning, Ph.D. has an outstanding record of scholarship, teaching and service to Cleveland State, from the time he joined the fledgling University in the Department of History in 1966 until his retirement in 1998. He contributed greatly to the University’s rise in academic reputation and scholarly prestige through national and international acclaim for his work. His teaching and research have inspired generations of students. He has published six books on a wide range of English history and served as Director of Graduate Studies in History for eight years.

Dr. Manning’s numerous honors include earning Cleveland State’s Distinguished Faculty Research Award. Since retiring, he has continued his scholarly work with two more books and several journal articles and papers published.

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Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer is a leader in providing citizens with improved access to the courts through alternative dispute resolution and computer technology, and has helped turn Ohio into a leader in providing substance abuse treatment to nonviolent offenders. He is working to develop family courts, a comprehensive approach to resolving criminal and civil issues confronting families. As chairman of the Ohio Criminal Sentencing Commission, he led efforts to revise Ohio felony, misdemeanor, traffic and juvenile sentencing laws. Since becoming Chief Justice in 1987, he has been at the forefront of efforts to improve the method of selecting judges in Ohio and increase the reporting requirements for contributions made to judicial campaigns.

Chief Justice Moyer also works with lawyers and judges in other countries, including Ukraine, China, Korea, Argentina and Chile, to help develop independent judiciaries.

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Les Roberts is Cleveland’s most prolific and popular author. He is the former writer or producer of such memorable television shows as The Hollywood Squares, The Lucy Show and The Jackie Gleason Show. He first came to Cleveland in 1987 to create a game show for the Ohio Lottery, fell in love with the city and has lived in Cleveland Heights since 1990.

Roberts is best known for his series of mystery novels, all set in Cleveland and featuring Milan Jacovich, a Cleveland private investigator of Slovenian descent. With these novels, Roberts shares his passion for his beloved Cleveland with a national and international audience. He has been voted several times as “Cleveland’s Favorite Author.” He was awarded the Cleveland Arts Prize in 2003 and reviews books for The Plain Dealer.

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Lawrence J. Dolan is well-known for his significant civic and professional contributions to Northeast Ohio that make the region a better place to live, work and play. As the owner and CEO of the Cleveland Indians Baseball Company, he and Cleveland Indians Charities have donated millions of dollars to those in need.

Dolan is President and Managing Partner of Thrasher, Dinsmore & Dolan, a Chardon-based law firm. He has invested his entire life in Cleveland, serving as Assistant County Prosecutor for Geauga County before joining the law firm that now bears his name. He managed the firm for nearly 25 years, building a reputation of excellence in general, civil and business law. He actively takes part in a variety of business interests and has provided financial resources and management to several successful start-up ventures in Northeast Ohio.

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Ellis Yan’s journey to becoming a successful innovator and founder, president and CEO of the world’s leading energy-efficient lighting manufacturer has been filled with obstacles which fueled his entrepreneurial spirit. A survivor of China’s Cultural Revolution, Yan arrived in the Unites States to study at Cleveland State, where he earned a degree in Accounting in 1982. In 1986, he entered the halogen lighting products business and founded Technical Consumer Products (TCP) in Aurora, Ohio.

He turned his focus to energy-efficient compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), revolutionizing the residential lighting industry. Today, TCP drives lighting innovation for commercial, industrial and residential use.

Yan continues to have a keen commitment to the environment and ensuring that TCP is a “green” operation. He has received numerous awards for his business leadership, was named in 2008 to the Forbes list of Notable Chinese Americans, and received a 2008 Distinguished Alumni Award from Cleveland State.

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Kent W. Clapp has bequeathed a legacy of exemplary service to Northeast Ohio as business executive, humanitarian and volunteer. He was the Chairman, President and CEO of Medical Mutual of Ohio, the state’s oldest and largest health insurer. He passed away on December 3, 2008.

Clapp joined Medical Mutual in 1976, working his way through the ranks to become the company’s top executive in 1997. Upon taking leadership, he introduced an ambitious plan to strengthen the company by diversifying. His business expertise and innovative change during this time saved thousands of local jobs.

An active volunteer, Clapp served as Chairman of the Board of the American Heart Association and belonged to a number of charitable groups. In 2000, he was awarded the March of Dimes Franklin Delano Roosevelt Humanitarian Award. He was inducted into the Northeast Ohio Business Hall of Fame in 2008.

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