Cleveland State University President Laura Bloomberg used her third State of the University address Tuesday to reiterate the downtown school is doing just fine, even as higher education continues to face intense pressure from state and federal leaders.
Yet Bloomberg didn’t directly address those challenges, which include the controversial state higher education law known as Senate Bill 1 and declining student enrollment numbers.
Bloomberg, who has led the university since 2022, also didn’t discuss the vocal backlash over the university’s recent decision to give control of its radio station, WCSB, to Ideastream Public Media. But she seemed to allude to it.
“Reexamining the ways in which we serve students is our imperative as a living organization,” Bloomberg told the crowd attending in an on-campus ballroom. “And yet, change is not easy, and change can be painful. I do acknowledge that.”
A handful of students in attendance wore black tape over their mouths to silently protest the WCSB deal. Other demonstrators gathered outside the university’s student center in a grassy area where Bloomberg and guests were expected to assemble for a ribbon-cutting event to celebrate a major donation.
But the ceremony was moved inside at the last minute because of concerns over threats of rain, Bloomberg said in her speech. The weather ultimately remained clear.
No big headlines emerged from the address
Such annual addresses are rarely used to make new announcements but are instead used to highlight successes and broad priorities.
The bulk of Bloomberg’s roughly one hour and 15-minute speech focused on three areas: touting new majors that blend multiple academic topics into one degree offering, plans to eventually expand hands-on work experiences to be part of students’ coursework, and how the university is embracing artificial intelligence.
Several points Bloomberg discussed Tuesday were mentioned in previous addresses and also highlighted in the university’s strategic plan introduced last year.
She underscored Cleveland State’s close ties to the city by repeatedly referring to the school as “Cleveland’s university.”
That label “speaks to our role as this city’s public university, serving a student body that largely hails from this region of Northeast Ohio, and providing remarkable ways for these students to experience their education and prepare them for a future yet unknown,” she said.
The university reports 85% of its alumni stay in the area after graduation. Plus, the institution is both a provider of talent to local businesses as well as an employer of nearly 1,400 full-time faculty and staff members itself.
Bloomberg’s remarks reflected her leadership style for which she has earned praise. She was confident, conversational and complimentary to those she works alongside. She mingled with attendees until the moment she took the stage. Her speech wrapped up with a reminder for guests to eat the robust snacks spread out in the back of the ballroom.
Several members of the university’s board of trustees attended the address and sat in the first few rows alongside members of Bloomberg’s cabinet. Board chair Timothy Cosgrove praised her “strong and steady leadership” during his introductory remarks.
“She is truly one of us,” he said of the Minnesota native.
Cleveland State’s fall enrollment drops
Early data shows Cleveland State enrolled nearly 13,100 undergraduate, graduate, and law students this fall. That’s about a 7% drop from the roughly 14,100 students who enrolled last fall, and about a 14% decline from 15,330 students five years ago.
Cleveland State’s not alone on this front. Enrollment at Ohio’s public universities peaked about 14 years ago and has seen “steady declines” ever since, according to a report released this year from the state auditor.
Those findings, though, also noted Cleveland State has seen far higher-than-average enrollment drops compared to its peers during that same time.