Cleveland State University formally dedicated its new Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Honors College on November 9.

A $3.6 million gift from the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation and the Mandel Supporting Foundations established the college. It serves as the academic home of more than 500 students enrolled in the University Honors and University Scholars programs at CSU. Each year, these highly selective programs admit qualified freshman candidates as well as internal and transfer students through a rigorous application process.

“This is an investment in the better world we all want,” Morton Mandel said at the dedication ceremony.

His remarks were echoed by CSU President Ronald M. Berkman.

“This gift really is an investment in the next generation of leaders,” he said.

President Berkman called Morton Mandel “a driving force for positive change” who “devoted his life to the goal of changing the world.”

The festivities culminated with the unveiling of a wall decorated with an inspirational quotation from Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel: “The hallmark of our philanthropy is our commitment to invest in people with the values, ability and passion to change the world.”

In addition to funding interior and exterior renovations to CSU’s Main Classroom Building, where the Mandel Honors College is housed, the gift from the Mandel foundations supports merit scholarships and the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Chair in Humanities, an endowed position held by Elizabeth Lehfeldt, Ph.D., inaugural dean of the Mandel Honors College.

The Mandel Honors College is CSU’s ninth college. It joins the Monte Ahuja College of Business, the College of Education and Human Services, the Washkewicz College of Engineering, the College of Graduate Studies, the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, the College of Sciences and Health Professions and the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs, as well as the CSU School of Nursing.

The primary mission of the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation and the Mandel Supporting Foundations is to provide outstanding leadership for the nonprofit world. The foundations believe that exceptional leaders are the critical factor that enables organizations to contribute most significantly to society.