Cleveland State University’s Cleveland-Marshall College of Law has appointed Steven W. Percy, former chairman and CEO of BP America Inc., as its first Leader-in-Residence.

The newly established program is designed to closely connect students, staff and faculty with key community leaders who offer a breadth of knowledge in their field of expertise. Leaders-in-Residence will serve on a volunteer basis and work with faculty and staff to design a semester or year-long program customized to each leader’s expertise and the needs of students.

“We are pleased to introduce this new avenue for connecting our students and faculty with community leaders who have an immense depth of valuable knowledge to share,” said Cleveland-Marshall Interim Dean Lee Fisher. “As a prominent alumnus who has been extremely generous to Cleveland-Marshall for many years, Steve Percy is an ideal choice to serve as our first Leader-in-Residence.”

As part of his duties, Percy will maintain on-campus office hours for students and faculty. On an ad hoc basis, he will speak in classes, conduct formal and informal gatherings with students, staff, and/or faculty, and participate in leadership meetings.

"It is a great honor to be able to serve Cleveland-Marshall in this capacity,” said Percy. “I am privileged to be able to give back to this College which has afforded me such great personal and professional opportunities and I look forward to engaging with students, faculty and staff to help craft a role that will be most beneficial to the Cleveland-Marshall community."

Percy, a 1976 graduate of Cleveland-Marshall, spent 23 years with BP America (previously Standard Oil Company) in various capacities before retiring as chairman and CEO in 1999. He has also held positions as the head of Phillips Petroleum’s Refining, Marketing and Transportation Company, conducted workshops on corporate governance for the AHC Group, and has served as a strategic consultant in the areas of environment, energy and materials. He served as a member of President Bill Clinton's Council on Sustainable Development as Co-Chair of the Climate Change Task Force, and is active with several organizations pertaining to environmental and economic research.

Percy is a member of C|M|LAW’s Board of Visitors, past chair of the CSU Foundation Board of Directors, and served as interim dean of CSU’s Monte Ahuja College of Business in 2012-13.  In 2014, he established the Steven W. Percy Endowed Professorship at C|M|LAW, to recognize exceptional work on environmental or energy law.

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