Philanthropy at Work

Moreno Center for Sales Excellence

With a transformative gift of $1 million from Bernie Moreno, CSU will create the Bernie Moreno Center for Sales Excellence in the Monte Ahuja College of Business. Moreno is president of Bernie Moreno Companies and chair of the CSU Board of Trustees.

The center will meet a growing need in multiple industries for advanced educational sales programs that provide the analytic skills, market knowledge and customer focus required for a successful career. As a hub for innovative research and education in sales management and training, the center will offer an undergraduate certificate in professional sales, continuing education courses and a custom training program tailored to individual industry needs. Its growing list of corporate partners includes KeyBank, Oswald Companies, PNC and Swagelok Company.

Moreno purchased his first auto dealership in 2005 and has grown the business to multiple luxury dealerships known for sales excellence. He was named Hispanic Dealer of the Year at the 2015 Detroit International Auto Show and won the 2011 Midwest Region Entrepreneur of the Year Award from Ernst & Young.

Mandel Continuing Scholars Program

The Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation awarded $1.99 million to CSU and $1.49 million to Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) to create a scholars program connecting high-achieving Tri-C students with CSU’s Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Honors College.

The Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Continuing Scholars Program forges a new partnership between CSU and Tri-C that aims to be a national model for honors student transfers between two-year and four-year schools.

Through full-tuition scholarships and stipends, summer research workshops, training opportunities, peer mentoring and academic advisors, the program is helping Tri-C students make a seamless transition to CSU’s Mandel Honors College in pursuit of a bachelor’s degree.

Tri-C students enter CSU as juniors after earning an associate degree. Once at CSU, they are on course to graduate within two years.

Myers Honors Scholars Fund

With a $1 million grant, the David and Inez Myers Foundation created The David and Inez Myers Honors Scholars Fund in the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Honors College. Over four years, the fund will provide full scholarships to 25 students admitted to the Honors College who are pursuing undergraduate degrees in the College of Sciences and Health Professions.

The David and Inez Myers Foundation is a longtime supporter of Cleveland State University and the Honors College. By supporting honors students who are passionate about science and health, the Foundation is providing an academic foundation for future scientific discoveries and healthcare innovations.

Fergus Chair in Accounting

Alumnus Terrence Fergus and his wife Mary established The Fergus Family Endowed Chair in Accounting Fund with a gift of $1 million. By supporting an Accounting Chair in the Monte Ahuja College of Business, the fund is helping to enhance the Accounting Department’s regional and national visibility.

Fergus, who earned a bachelor of business administration degree in 1982, is a member of the CSU Foundation Board of Directors and the College of Business Visiting Committee. He is the president and principal partner of FSM Capital Management, LLC, a Cleveland-based wealth management services company. He and his wife have six children and live in Avon.

Smiths Support AHA! Festival

Darwin and Myra Smith made a $1 million leadership commitment, creating the Darwin and Myra Smith Arts and Humanities Fund in support of CSU’s first-ever Arts and Humanities Alive! (AHA!) Festival. They also made bequest commitments to create the Celia Friedberg Endowment Fund and the Herbert H. Smith Endowed Fund in support of the Mareyjoyce Green Women’s Center and Washkewicz College of Engineering scholarships, respectively.

During the inaugural AHA! Festival in June 2017, the arts and humanities came alive for thousands of visitors to the CSU campus and Playhouse Square. The family-friendly, three-day festival had something for everyone, including Pulitzer Prize-winning authors, a world premiere children’s theater production and internationally known artists. Euclid Avenue was even closed to traffic for a book festival. All events centered on the theme “Storytelling: What Our Stories Tell Us About Ourselves.” The second-annual festival will be held in June 2018.

The Smiths grew up in the Cleveland area and now live in Dallas and North Carolina. Darwin’s father, Herbert L. Smith, studied mechanical engineering at Fenn College and graduated in 1931.

Sullivans Support Foster Youth

CSU’s pioneering efforts to improve educational opportunity for foster care youth – one of the least likely populations to attend college – received a significant boost with an additional $1 million gift from Barbara and Frank Sullivan.

The funds created The Pratt Center – Fostering Success and Leadership, which will provide greatly expanded academic support services and personal and professional development activities for the more than 70 CSU students who have exited foster care.

The center builds on the highly successful Sullivan/Deckard Scholars Opportunity program which provides scholarships for tuition and year-round living expenses for foster care students, guides them through the college application process, helps them transition to CSU, and provides comprehensive mentoring and support services as well as opportunities to participate in civic engagement/Engaged Learning experiences.

Barbara Sullivan serves on the board of directors for Fill This House, an organization that provides household goods to newly emancipated young adults. Frank Sullivan is chairman and chief executive officer of RPM International, Inc., a Medina-based holdings company for manufacturers of industrial and consumer building materials.

Sondhi Business Scholarship

Vir and Genella Sondhi established the Vir K. and Genella Sondhi Endowed Scholarship through a $500,000 deferred gift. The scholarship will support undergraduate and graduate students in the Monte Ahuja College of Business.

Sondhi is a former member of the CSU Board of Trustees, the CSU Foundation Board of Directors and the College of Education and Human Services Visiting Committee. His wife Genella, who passed away in April 2017, shared his commitment to higher education.

CSU named the Atrium in the Monte Ahuja College of Business as the Vir K. and Genella Sondhi Atrium.

Kelly Accounting Scholarship

With a deferred commitment of $2 million, alumnus Randy Kelly established the Randolph L. Kelly Endowed Accounting Scholarship. Kelly Scholarships support undergraduates who are pursuing a degree in accounting in the Monte Ahuja College of Business.

Kelly graduated with an accounting degree in 1979 and is a member of the College of Business Visiting Committee. His 33-year accounting career includes 23 years in management positions with Arthur Andersen, including 10 years as a partner in the audit/advisory practice.

In 2002, he joined PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, San Jose, as an audit partner focused on high technology companies. He retired at an early age as a senior partner in PwC’s Assurance and Business Advisory Group.