Senior Fellow
Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs
Cleveland State University

Office Location: UR 330B
Phone: 216.687.6985
Email: g.v.voinovich@csuohio.edu

Brief Biography and Career Description:

From his time as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives, Cuyahoga County Commissioner, County Auditor, Lieutenant Governor of Ohio, Mayor of Cleveland and Governor of Ohio to his twelve years as Ohio's senior United States Senator, George Voinovich has strived for more than 40 years to make all levels of government "work harder and smarter and do more with less."

During his time as a state legislator he was dubbed the father of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, and he considers his career-long fight to win the "Second Battle of Lake Erie" and protect the Great Lakes to be one of his most significant accomplishments. As mayor of Cleveland, USA Today credited him with "turning the nation's 22nd largest city from a laughingstock in the 1970s into a three-time All-America City winner during the 1980s". His work rebuilding the city through public-private partnerships earned him additional praise from the National Urban Coalition, which hailed him as one of four distinguished urban mayors in America.

By curbing state spending, implementing a series of government reforms, and balancing the budget, then-Governor Voinovich held Ohio's budgetary growth to its lowest rate in 30 years while pushing for economic development plans and tax incentives that helped Site Selection and Industrial Development magazine rank Ohio as number one in the nation for new facilities, expanded facilities, and new manufacturing plants three times during his tenure. He was named Governing magazine's "Public Official of the Year" in 1995 for his many accomplishments as governor. Before arriving in the nation's capitol as a Senator, The National Journal called Voinovich "one of five local and state officials who make a difference in Washington." He is the only person to have served as both chairman of the National Governors Association and president of the National League of Cities.

As a United States Senator, Voinovich focused on four major areas: assuring fiscal responsibility, strengthening national security, enhancing American competitiveness, and improving the management, efficiency, and effectiveness of the federal government. He came to be known as a “Debt Hawk” for his sustained leadership on improving fiscal discipline. As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he was actively involved in foreign policy development in many critical areas, including Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, North Korea, the Balkans, NATO expansion, and former Captive Nations in Eastern Europe. He repeatedly called for policies that would harmonize our economic, energy, environmental, and national security needs. In addition, the most significant reforms to the federal civil service in more than three decades were enacted under his leadership.

Since retiring in January 2011, Voinovich has been named a Senior Fellow at Cleveland State University, and Ohio Visiting Professor of Leadership and Public Affairs at Ohio University. He remains committed to and involved with the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs at Ohio University.

In 2009, Joe Hallett of the Columbus Dispatch wrote that George Voinovich "ranks with Republican James A. Rhodes and Democrat Frank Lausche...as the most popular politicians in Ohio history." Despite his many accomplishments in the public sphere, Voinovich calls Janet, his wife of 47 years, God's greatest blessing on him. Together they have three children, George, Betsy, and Peter, and eight grandchildren.

Areas of Expertise:

Best Practices and Benchmarking Studies	Environmental Finance	Legal Issues	Public/Private Partnerships
Building Strategic Alliances Among Public, Private, and Nonprofit Sectors	Environment and Sustainability	Main Street and Historic District Planning	Race and Gender Issues
Civic Education	Evaluation of Economic Development Initiatives	Municipal Services Consolidations	Regional Economic Analysis
City Management	Focus Group Moderation and Analysis	Philanthropy	Regional Planning
Community and Neighborhood Development	Housing Policy	Political campaigns	Stadiums and Sports (Economics of)
Community-University Partnerships	Industry Analysis	Primary and Secondary Education Finance	State and Local Governance
Conservation Development	Infrastructure Finance	Program Evaluations Assessments & Development	Strategic Planning
Debt Financing	Land Law, Tenant Law, and Housing Courts	Public Administration	Stormwater Regulations and Compliance
Economic Development	Leadership and Management of Nonprofit Organizations	Public Finance	Technology-Based Economic Development
Economic Development Finance	Leadership Development	Public Management	Urban Planning
Economic Development Strategy	Local Government Renewable Energy Policy	Public Policy Development and Analysis