“The rising tide lifts all boats.” - President John F. Kennedy
Governor DeWine, CSU President Harlan Sands, and other Cleveland area leaders recently announced an exciting partnership linking and leveraging Cleveland’s distinctive health care, research, and higher education assets. This new hub of innovation and opportunity has the potential to be a rising tide that lifts all boats.
Thanks to the leadership of President Sands, Dr. Forrest Faison, Senior VP, Research & Innovation/Chief Healthcare Strategy Officer, and others at CSU, Cleveland State University will become a talent pipeline for the newly formed Cleveland Innovation District. This collaboration will bring investments, research dollars and jobs to Northeast Ohio. More information about the announcement can be found here. See also The Rise of Innovation Districts for how innovation districts have become the new geography of regional economic growth.
I spent much of my career at the intersection of law, public policy, and economic development as Lt. Governor, Director, Ohio Department of Development, Chair, Ohio Third Frontier Commission, and President/CEO of CEOs for Cities, and I learned how important higher education is to the growth of our city and regional economy. At CEOs for Cities, we called it The Talent Dividend. At CSU Cleveland-Marshall, we are the most consistent and dependable talent pipeline for Cleveland’s and Northeast Ohio’s legal community.
That’s why I’m so pleased to thank and congratulate the following distinguished members of the CSU C|M|LAW family who were recently featured in Crain's Cleveland Business Power 150. An even larger number of our alumni and friends are listed in Cleveland Magazine’s recent The Cleveland 500. Each of these talented community leaders are on the front lines, helping to shape and lift the economic future of our region.
- Jose Feliciano, Sr.’75, Retired Partner, BakerHostetler; Co-Founder, Chair, Hispanic Roundtable
- Hon. Marcia Fudge ’83, C|M|LAW Board of Visitors; U.S. House of Representatives; Nominated as U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
- Hon. Frank G. Jackson ’83, Mayor of Cleveland
- Hon. Kevin Kelley ‘04, President, Cleveland City Council
- Hon. Michael C. O’Malley ’92, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor
- Jon J. Pinney ’00, Managing Partner, Kohrman, Jackson & Krantz
- Steve Potash ’78, President and CEO, OverDrive
- Harlan Sands President, Cleveland State University; C|M|LAW Faculty
- Lisa Marie Stickan ’01, Chair, Cuyahoga County Republican Party
- Sonia Winner, Vice-Chair, C|M|LAW Board of Visitors; President and CEO, Cleveland Museum of Natural History
Special congratulations to Congresswoman Marcia Fudge ‘83 who made history as the first woman nominated to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development in more than 40 years and the first Cleveland State University and Cleveland- Marshall alumnus to serve as a cabinet secretary. Secretary Fudge earned her law degree from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1983 and was awarded an honorary doctor of laws by the College of Law in 2014. In 2017, she was inducted as an inaugural member of our Hall of Fame.
We are very proud of our distinguished alumna who has served as an unwavering champion for justice and as an exceptional role model for our students. Her leadership will help shape and lift our nation’s economy. We look forward to her confirmation by the U.S. Senate.
Stay safe. Stay healthy. Stay Committed to Living Justice.
Have a great day. Have a great week.
For copies of past messages, please go to this link: Monday Morning Messages.
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My views in all my Monday Morning Messages are my personal views alone and do not reflect the views of our law school or our university.
My best,
Lee
Lee Fisher
Dean, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law | Cleveland State University
Joseph C. Hostetler-BakerHostetler Chair in Law