Mayor Justin Bibb landed a notable speaking spot at this year’s Clinton Global Initiative meeting in New York City last Monday. He introduced Hillary Clinton for a session titled, “The Unwritten Future of Racial Equity.”

The Cleveland mayor also used his five-and-a-half-minute remarks to introduce himself. He shared a few highlights from his three years in office, including the creation of the city’s Commission on Black Women and Girls.

“As the youngest Black mayor in my city’s history,” the 37-year-old Bibb said, “I feel a moral obligation to make sure that I meet the moment for my generation.” 

This wasn’t Bibb’s first brush with Clintonworld. He was part of a Clinton Global Initiative roundtable last year. 

CSU president to address big issues at speech

Cleveland State University President Laura Bloomberg is giving her annual State of the University address on Tuesday at 3 p.m. at the university’s student center. With merger talks, layoffs and working to curb a potential $40 million deficit, there are plenty of issues for her to address. 

University officials offered Signal Cleveland a few themes that Bloomberg is expected to highlight, including the connection between the university and Cleveland-area employers.

Bloomberg is also expected to tell what the university says are “inspiring” stories about graduates. About 85% of the university’s alumni reportedly still live in Northeast Ohio five years after graduation, working in places such as city and county governments and Cleveland’s major healthcare providers. 

Plus, the president will touch on the university’s strategic planning process, which is to say how the university plans to address enrollment declines, finances and the future of the campus. Staffers are already working on the 2025-2030 plan. It “will guide CSU’s approach to best serving its students, faculty and staff members, as well as the communities of Northeast Ohio,” officials told Signal Cleveland. University officials expect to present the plan to the board of trustees by the end of the year. (Officials have a balanced budget for fiscal year 2025, as required for a public institution. )

Bloomberg also plans to discuss the recent overhaul of the university’s core curriculum and the launch of nearly a dozen new degree programs.  

The event will stream live on the university’s website. 

Higher Education Reporter
I look at who is getting to and through Ohio's colleges, along with what challenges and supports they encounter along the way. How that happens -- and how universities wield their power during that process -- impacts all Ohio residents as well as our collective future. I am a first-generation college graduate reporting for Signal in partnership with the national nonprofit news organization Open Campus.

Government Reporter
I follow how decisions made at Cleveland City Hall and Cuyahoga County headquarters ripple into the neighborhoods. I keep an eye on the power brokers and political organizers who shape our government. I am a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and have covered politics and government in Northeast Ohio since 2012.