Historic Ahuja Foundation Gift to Transform Business Education at CSU

Gift of more than $10 million will reshape how CSU prepares tomorrow’s business leaders; 
college to be renamed the “Ahuja College of Business and Entrepreneurship” 

CLEVELAND, Ohio (Oct. 14, 2026) — Cleveland State University (CSU) President Laura Bloomberg today announced a gift of $10 million from the Ahuja Foundation and the Ahuja family that will redefine business education at CSU and across Northeast Ohio. Revealed during CSU’s annual State of the University address, the gift will fund a comprehensive overhaul of all undergraduate and graduate business programs while also providing advanced learning environments to reflect the unmistakable impact made by AI and other emerging technologies worldwide. In addition, students will have access to extensive financial support as they learn, connect with employers and launch their careers. This gift builds on a remarkable legacy of philanthropy and commitment to CSU’s business programs from alumnus Monte Ahuja, his wife, Usha, and their family.

The 2,200 undergraduate and graduate students of CSU’s business college will take part in new and expanded programs built for a workplace continually reshaped by innovation, along with expanded corporate partnerships that will grow their professional networks before they graduate. Graduates of the college will leave with the work-based experience that shapes the trajectory of a career. In turn, Northeast Ohio employers will gain talent with cutting-edge skills in new business trends and technologies.

To recognize the Ahuja family’s decades of support to Cleveland State University and the life-changing student experiences this gift will make possible, the CSU Board of Trustees will meet to approve a plan to rename the Monte Ahuja College of Business to the Ahuja College of Business and Entrepreneurship. As Bloomberg explained during her address, the new name reflects Monte Ahuja’s success as an entrepreneur, his close ties to the college and the evolving demands of business education. It also signals the college’s ambition to lead in preparing future generations of founders, innovators and changemakers across Northeast Ohio and beyond.

“We are truly honored by the Ahuja Foundation’s incredible generosity — and we are inspired by it,” said Bloomberg. “This gift will transform business education in Northeast Ohio. The Ahuja College of Business and Entrepreneurship will prepare our students not only for the business world as it is today, but for the one being reshaped by AI and other technologies.”

To attract, retain and support the college’s outstanding faculty, the Ahuja family has also pledged an annual gift of $100,000 for faculty excellence and innovation. This gift will recognize faculty members who serve as outstanding ambassadors for the college through groundbreaking research, exceptional mentorship and academic expertise. “When we recognize and reward excellence in our faculty leaders, we inspire others to follow their lead,” said Bloomberg.

“The Ahuja Foundation and the Ahuja family is proud to support Cleveland State University and its College of Business,” said Monte Ahuja. “My time as a CSU student was instrumental in my career, and we want to give many more students that same transformational experience, so they can go on to lead and build businesses in Northeast Ohio and beyond.” 

While pursuing his MBA at CSU, Monte Ahuja developed the business concept that would become Transtar Industries, which he founded in 1975 and built into a global leader in transmission and drivetrain-related parts. Fifty years later, that entrepreneurial legacy is reflected in the new name and expanded mission of the Ahuja College of Business and Entrepreneurship. He now serves as CEO and chairman of MURA Holdings, based in Beachwood, OH. Throughout his career, he has remained an engaged alumnus of CSU. He served as a member of the University’s Board of Trustees from 1991 to 2000, including a six-year term as Board Chair. In 2011, he and Usha made a personal donation of $10 million to CSU, and in recognition of their gift, the Board of Trustees voted to approve the name of the Monte Ahuja College of Business.

With today’s gift, Usha and Monte Ahuja, along with the Ahuja Foundation, become the largest lifetime donors in CSU’s history. Their ongoing philanthropy includes the Ahuja Endowed Scholarship Fund, benefiting undergraduate and graduate students. This fund, established in 1992, has provided scholarships to more than 1,500 students at Cleveland State University. The Ahujas also established the Monte Ahuja Endowed Chair in Global Business in 2019, which recognizes and supports the work of a professor pursuing groundbreaking new research areas and educational programs in the college. That position is currently held by CSU Professor of Marketing Dr. Rama Jayanti. 

"Monte Ahuja and the Ahuja family have demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to Cleveland State and, most importantly, to our students,” said Timothy Cosgrove, chair of the CSU Board of Trustees. “Their generosity over the years has changed lives, opened doors and created opportunities for generations of students. This remarkable gift builds on that legacy and is another powerful expression of their belief in our students, in Cleveland State and in the future of Northeast Ohio.”

The Ahuja College of Business and Entrepreneurship offers a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree in 10 academic programs (areas of study include Accounting, Finance and International Business) as well as three Bachelor of Arts (BA) degrees (Economics, Property Management, and Sport and Entertaining Management) and two Bachelor of Science (BS) degrees (Information Systems and Healthcare Management). The college also offers six graduate degrees, a joint degree with the CSU College of Law and a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA). The college is among a small number of institutions worldwide to be accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) for both business and accounting programs.