Interim director promoted to be first dean of CSU's newest College

Cleveland State University has appointed Elizabeth A. Lehfeldt, Ph.D., dean of the Jack, Joseph & Morton Mandel Honors College, effective July 1. Dr. Lehfeldt has served as interim director of the college since September. She is the first to hold the dean position that was created when CSU's Honors Program was elevated to College status.

Before serving in the interim director role at the Mandel Honors College, Dr. Lehfeldt chaired CSU's Department of History from 2009 to 2014 and also served as interim director of general education from 2007 to 2009. From 2006 to 2007 she was special assistant to the president for student success. She has been a member of the faculty at CSU since 1995. Lehfeldt earned a BA in History from Lawrence University and completed master's and doctoral studies in Early Modern European History at Indiana University.

"Dr. Lehfeldt is an exceptional educator and she has been integral to the establishment and growth of the Mandel Honors College. We are very pleased to have her in a permanent leadership role," said CSU Provost Deirdre M. Mageean.

In June 2014, CSU received a $3.6 million gift from the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation and the Mandel Supporting Foundations, and the College was renamed in their honor. The donation supports merit scholarships and created the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Chair in Humanities, an endowed position to be held by the dean of the newly designated Honors College, which Dr. Lehfeldt will assume.

In addition, the gift has supported interior and exterior renovations to CSU's Main Classroom Building to house the College on the building's first floor, and to provide external visibility at the center of CSU's campus along Euclid Avenue. The renovated space is slated to be completed this summer.

"I love working with the students, faculty and staff in the Mandel Honors College and I am honored to have the opportunity to build on the strength of our programs as we work to prepare CSU's most academically qualified students for career success," said Dr. Lehfeldt.

Started as the University Honors Program 10 years ago, the Mandel Honors College is the ninth college at CSU and it enrolls more than 500 students through the University Honors and University Scholars programs. The College offers a unique honors curriculum for each degree program from across the university. Each year, the highly selective programs admit qualified freshman candidates as well as internal and transfer students through a rigorous application process. Freshman applicants to the most selective University Honors program must graduate in the top 10 percent of their high school class or score 30 or above on the ACT exam, among other criteria.