‘We are going to have some fun’: An excerpt from the book Cleveland State University: 50 Years

Want to relive great CSU memories? Get your copy of Cleveland State University: 50 Years today! Authored by CSU alumna and Associate Professor of History Dr. Regennia N. Williams and illustrated with more than 100 photographs from the CSU Archives, this commemorative history of the University is a wonderful keepsake for all members of the Viking family. The book ($24.95 hardcover) is on sale now at the Viking Outfitters bookstore in the Student Center and online.

In this exclusive excerpt from the book, President Michael Schwartz reenvisions the University:

Dr. Michael Schwartz liked to joke that regardless of his other achievements, he was destined to be remembered as the man who put “CSU” atop Rhodes Tower. He did indeed have those letters affixed – in radiant green, lit up at night – on each side of the campus landmark’s parapet, for all of Cleveland to see. But the fifth president of Cleveland State University also raised CSU’s profile and bolstered its reputation in many other ways. Under his leadership, the University engaged in an ambitious strategic planning process that renewed and reinvigorated CSU’s physical space, academic programs and relationships with external partners.

A bold master plan transformed the formerly austere, inward-looking campus into a more vibrant and welcoming home of higher education in the heart of Cleveland. Embracing the slogan “The city is our campus” and the philosophy that for Cleveland to be good, CSU must be good, Dr. Schwartz was the catalyst who made the University an integral player in the economic growth of its hometown. His vision extended to raising academic standards, reengineering student services and restructuring CSU to run as a business, with proper emphasis on the “customers” of the University – its students.

“Education that does not lead to action is education that in a terrible way has been wasted,” Dr. Schwartz said during his inaugural address. “A mission without passion soon becomes a dull-witted mantra… . We are going to take some risks. We are going to have some fun at Cleveland State University.”

As CSU answered the call to become more connected to the community, its evolving campus embraced and elevated the surrounding cityscape.

For more, check out CSU’s ENGAGED blog.