From the Deans' Suite - 4/13/26 - A Historic Week and a Transformational Investment

It has been an extraordinary week here at the College of Law. The highlight, without question, was the press conference announcing a $5 million endowment from the State of Ohio, made possible through the leadership of Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost. This remarkable investment will allow us to launch a first-of-its-kind prosecutor training program at Cleveland State University College of Law.

Moments like this are rare in the life of a law school.

At CSU Law, we have always been a law school rooted in public service. Our graduates serve as prosecutors, public defenders, judges, and advocates across Ohio and beyond. But this moment both challenges and empowers us to go further. It invites us to be intentional about preparing the next generation of prosecutors: not just lawyers who may enter the field, but professionals who are trained, mentored, and grounded in the ethical responsibilities that come with representing the state.

With this endowment, we will build something truly transformative. We will hire a clinical professor with real prosecutorial experience to lead the program. We will launch a Prosecution Clinic that places students directly in prosecutors’ offices, doing meaningful, supervised work. We will develop a statewide mentorship pipeline, connecting our students with practicing prosecutors across Ohio. And we will ensure that financial barriers do not stand in the way of students who feel called to this work, through scholarships and fellowships dedicated to public service careers.

Just as importantly, this program will emphasize the qualities that matter most in prosecution: judgment, discretion, integrity, and a deep understanding that the role is not simply to win cases—but to do justice.

We are not starting from scratch. Every day, our students demonstrate what is possible when they are given real responsibility and meaningful opportunities. Last week we shared the story of one of our students who presented an oral argument before the Eighth District Court of Appeals, an experience that speaks volumes about the preparation and confidence our students develop here. This new program will create more moments like that. More students who are ready. More graduates who will serve with both skill and principle.

This investment is about far more than a single program. It is an investment in the integrity of our justice system, in communities across Ohio, and in the people who will stand in courtrooms making decisions that profoundly affect lives.

We are grateful to Attorney General Yost and to the State of Ohio for their trust in our law school. And we are ready to carry that trust forward with purpose, with care, and with a continued commitment to living our mission every day.

It has been an incredible week. And the work ahead is even more inspiring.

Warmly,
Carolyn and Brian