The Center for Community Planning and Development has received a grant from the Ohio Lake Erie Commission for $37,953 to continue Kirby Date's work promoting Best Local Land Use Practices to local governments across the state. Additional funding from the Ohio Water Resources Council is pending. Congratulations Kirby!

Former Levin College staffer Susan Petrone’s first novel, A Body at Rest, was published earlier this year by Drinian Press. Susan gave a book talk/reading at Lakewood Public Library on Wednesday, October 21, at 7:00 p.m. in the main library auditorium. You can get a copy at most of the local independent bookstores in Cleveland (Mac’s Backs, Loganberry Books, Appletree Books) or online at Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble.com.

President Ronald Berkman announced on September 16 that our own Assistant Dean Stuart Mendel will become Special Assistant to the President. However we will still see him around Urban because he will keep his office here, for now anyway! Congratulations Stuart! Go to: blog.cleveland.com/metro to read the article.

Norm Krumholz was recently named one of the top 100 urban thinkers of all time in a poll taken by the Planetizen! Congratulations Norm! http://www.planetizen.com

The Ohio Board of Regents granted tenure and promotion to Dr. Jessica Sowa, Associate Professor, on April 4 (effective August 2009). Well done!

Undergraduate Engaged Learning Research/Creative Achievement Awards will support 71 CSU students during Summer 2009
Seventy-one CSU undergraduate students will have the opportunity to work on summer research projects with faculty mentors during summer 2009. Fifty-six proposals were received from five colleges and 38 were funded across 16 departments. Congratulations to Dr. Sung-Gheel Jang and Dr. Joel Elvery of the Levin College, who received funding for the following projects:

• Dr. Sung-Gheel Jang--Geo-narrating Cleveland Using Google Earth (2 students)
• Dr. Joel Elvery--Defining and Characterizing Employment Centers (1 student)

The funds for the projects, totaling $295,625, were provided from the Provost’s Office. The Provost’s office will also sponsor a poster session for these projects September 3 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the library. A list of proposal titles, faculty mentors, and amount funded is available at: http://www.csuohio.edu/academic/undergradresearch/.

Cleveland State University’s Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs has named Judy and Bob Rawson as recipients of the 2009 In Tribute to the Public Service Award. The award will be presented during an In Tribute program and award ceremony on May 7 at the Hanna Theater, 2067 East 14th Street. The program begins at 5:30 p.m. and will be followed by a cocktail reception at 6:30 p.m. More information and tickets here

Patrick A. Sweeney was selected to receive an Irma Lazarus Award at the Governor's Awards for the Arts in Ohio and Arts Day Luncheon that was held April 1 in Columbus. Since 1994, the Irma Lazarus Award, presented at the discretion of the Ohio Arts Council Board, honors the memory of Irma Lazarus, who made countless contributions as an arts patron, advocate and leader in the development of state funding for the arts in Ohio. It is presented to organizations or individuals who have helped shape public support for the arts through their work as advocates and have brought statewide, national and international recognition to Ohio through sustained dedication to artistic excellence.

Congratulations to Dr. Iryna Lendel on being selected as a Fulbright New Century Scholar for the 2009-10 program "The University as Innovation Driver and Knowledge Center.” As a New Century Scholar, Iryna and her colleagues will be engaging in multinational debate, discussion, and collaboration of the highest quality on a topic of critical global significance.

Congratulations to Dr. Nancy Meyer-Emerick who successfully implemented the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training program at CSU. CSU-CERT consists of campus community volunteers who are trained to respond as needed in the event of a disaster or emergency situation. The volunteers participate in an extensive 20-hour training program which emphasizes hands-on practice. Trainers come from various backgrounds and included first Responders, faculty, staff, and community members. The first CSU-CERT class graduated November 2008. Members of CSU-CERT came from all across campus. Levin College members included Bill Weber (environmental studies student), JeJuana Brown (urban studies student), Bob Martel (Levin College systems administrator), and Jane McCrone (Levin College communications). JeJuana Brown, who is also a CSU staff member at plant services, was selected by her peers as the new Co-Director of CSU-CERT. Contact j.c.brown23@csuohio.edu for more information on upcoming CERT training sessions.

Jeffrey L. Brudney, Albert A. Levin Chair of Urban Studies and Public Service, received an invitation from President Bush. Read the story here.

Dr. Camilla Stivers received the prestigious Brownlow Award from the National Academy of Public Administration for the book Governance in Dark Times published in March 2008. The award is given each year for the book that the academy considers the best book published.

Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Mary Jane Saunders is pleased to announce that as a result of an intensive internal search, Dr. Vera Vogelsang-Coombs from the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs has been selected to become the new Dean of the College of Graduate Studies, effective July 1, 2008. Dr. Vogelsang-Coombs has been a faculty member of the Levin College of Urban Affairs since 1992, holds the rank of Associate Professor, and has been serving as the Director of the Master of Public Administration Program since 2003. She previously served as the Director of the Local Officials Leadership Academy and of the Leadership Programs within the College and has been a member of the Graduate Faculty since 1998. Her Ph.D. is in Political Science from Washington University in St. Louis, and she is a nationally recognized scholar in mayoral and council leadership, and organizational development. The College of Graduate Studies is located in Parker Hannifin Hall.

Dr. Nancy Meyer-Emerick received a Fulbright Scholarship to teach at the University of Presov in the Slovak Federal Republic for the spring semester, February-June, 2009.  Gratulujem Dr. Meyer-Emerick (Congratulations in Slovak)!

Dr. Jennifer Alexander.  received the Presidential Merit Award for organizing a symposium co-sponsored by the American Society of Public Administratiors(ASPA) and the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organization and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA) that will look at the challenges of public-nonprofit partnerships in Cleveland.  The award was presented by ASPA. The Cleveland Foundation granted $7,500 toward the national symposium: Public Private Partnerships:  Accountability and Performance Measurement in the Hollow State, to be held at the Levin College October 23-24. Additional contributions have been received from the Sherwick Foundation, the MacGregor Foundation, and the Cuyahoga County Department of Children and Family Services.

Congratulations to Dr. Virginia Benson, who received the Herbert Strawbridge Educator's Award for her longstanding contributions to educating Urban Design seminar students about the issues in the Flats.  The award is given from the Flats Oxbow Association.  Herb Strawbridge was the president of the Higbee Company and invested a great deal of time and effort in restoring the Settler's Landing, where Moses Cleaveland first set foot on Cleveland's shores. The Settler's Landing park is now a key part of the effort to bring the Towpath Trail to downtown Cleveland and the lakefront. Dr. Benson worked with Mr. Strawbridge on the Settler's Landing process and later on waterfront development issues.  The Urban Design class works closely with the staff of the Flats Oxbow Association in their study of economic, infrastructure, and environmental issues in the Flats.

Congratulations to Professors Sylvester (Sy) Murray and Michael Spicer! Both received 2007 American Society of Public Administration (ASPA) awards from the PA Times.  Professor Murray received the Elmer B. Staats Award.  ASPA also recognized Professor Murray for Lifetime Achievement for Distinguished Public Service. Professor Spicer received the Laverne Burchfield Award from Public Administration Review. PAR recognized Professor Spicer as the author of the best-written book review of 2007. His review is titled, "Some Reflections on Democracy and Their Implications for American Public Administration."  This review appeared in PAR's Jan-Feb. volume: 343-350.

Dr. Jeffrey Brudney and recent graduate Latrice R. Jones ('08 MPA) are featured in video clips on the University's website. Dr. Brudney gives a faculty perspective on engaged teaching and Latrice speaks about her engaged learning experience as a student. Well done!

Senator Grace L. Drake was awarded the 2008 Public Health Practice Excellence Award from the Consortium of Eastern Ohio Master of Public Health. Grace Drake is the Director of the Ohio Center for the Advancement of Women in Public Service. The Consortium of Eastern Ohio Master of Public Health is a collaborative program between CSU, YSU, KSU, OU, UA and the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine and Pharmacy.

Dr. Roberta Steinbacher and Dr. Vera Vogelsang-Coombs were recognized as CSU Women Who Make a Difference by CSU's Women's Studies program.