This list of Cleveland State University people includes notable alumni, students, as well as current and former faculty of

Cleveland State University Cleveland State University (CSU) is a public research university in Cleveland, Ohio. It was established in 1964 and opened for classes in 1965 after acquiring the entirety of Fenn College, a private school that had been in operation since 1923. ...

, a public university located in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

Faculty

Angelin Chang Angelin Chang (張安麟, Korean: 장 安 린) is a Grammy award-winning classical pianist and professor of music at Cleveland State University. She heads the university's keyboard studies program and coordinates the university's chamber musi ...

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

-award winning classical pianist and professor of music; a graduate of the university's

Cleveland-Marshall College of Law Cleveland State University College of Law is the law school of Cleveland State University, a Public university, public research university in Cleveland, Ohio. The school traces its origins to Cleveland Law School (founded in 1897), which merged in ...

* Michael Dumanis, Russian-American

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

and former Director of the

Cleveland State University Poetry Center The Cleveland State University Poetry Center is a literary small press and poetry outreach organization in Cleveland, Ohio, operated under the auspices of the English Department at Cleveland State University. It publishes original works of poetry b ...

Lee Fisher Lee Irwin Fisher (born August 7, 1951) is an American attorney, politician, and academic. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 64th lieutenant governor of Ohio, with Governor Ted Strickland, from 20 ...

, American politician and Dean of

* Barbara G. Hoffman, American anthropologist and author of ''Griots at War: Conflict, Conciliation and Caste in Mande'' and filmmaker of ''Being Maasai Today'' ethnographic film series *

Thomas W. Hungerford Thomas William Hungerford (March 21, 1936 – November 28, 2014) was an American mathematician who worked in algebra and mathematics education. He is the author or coauthor of several widely used and widely cited textbooks covering high-school to ...

, mathematician and author of many textbooks including ''Abstract Algebra: An Introduction'' * Richard M. Perloff, American Communication scholar, writer of ''The Dynamics of Persuasion'', currently in its sixth edition, international recognized expert on the subject * Imad Rahman, Pakistani-American writer, ''I Dream of Microwaves'' *

Shuvo Roy Shuvo Roy is an American scientist and engineer of South Asian descent. Early life and education Roy received most of his education in Uganda, where his father worked as a public health physician. Roy later completed his education and earned ...

, inventor of the

artificial kidney Artificial kidney is often a synonym for hemodialysis, but may also refer to the other renal replacement therapies (with exclusion of kidney transplantation) that are in use and/or in development. This article deals mainly with bioengineered kid ...

* Sheila Schwartz, fiction writer, creative writing professor *

Chas Smith Chas Smith (AKA Charles Vincent Smith) (1957 - 2007) was an author, musician, radio personality, and a Cleveland State University music instructor. Biography Smith taught and explored the cultural aspects of American Roots music for over twenty ye ...

, author, musician, radio personality, music professor * Camilla Stivers, Distinguished Professor of Public Administration *

Jearl Walker Jearl Walker (born 1945 in Pensacola, Florida) is a physicist noted for his book '' The Flying Circus of Physics'', first published in 1975; the second edition was published in June 2006. He teaches physics at Cleveland State University. Walker ...

, author of '' The Flying Circus of Physics''; physics professor * Tawfiq Oqal, CSU Treasurer 1989

Coaching staff

Gary Waters Gary Steven Waters (born August 15, 1951) is an American college basketball coach and the men's basketball former head coach at Cleveland State University. Coaching career Kent State On April 3, 1996 Waters was named the 21st head coach at Kent S ...

, basketball coach *

Dennis Gates Dennis Gates (born January 14, 1980) is an American college basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Missouri Tigers men's basketball team. Playing career Gates played college basketball at California, where he was a two-ti ...

, basketball coach

Notable alumni

Government

Nina Turner Nina Hudson Turner ( Hudson; born December 7, 1967) is an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, she was a Cleveland City Council member from 2006 to 2008 and a member of the Ohio Senate from 2008 until 2014. Turner was the Democ ...

(BA, MA), former Cleveland City Council Member, former Ohio State Senator, President of Our Revolution *

Jane L. Campbell Jane Louise Campbell (born May 19, 1953) is an American politician who served as the 56th and first female Mayor of Cleveland, mayor of Cleveland, Ohio from January 1, 2002, to January 1, 2006. Early life and education Campbell was born on May ...

, 56th mayor of Cleveland, first woman mayor of Cleveland * Anthony J. Celebrezze Jr., Ohio Senator, Ohio Secretary of State, Ohio attorney general and gubernatorial candidate for Ohio. * Frank D. Celebrezze Jr., Ohio Court of Appeals Judge *

Vlado Dimovski Vlado Dimovski, Slovenian economist, philosopher, politician, consultant and university professor, * 21 July 1960, Postojna, Slovenia. Biography After finishing the Bežigrad Grammar School Dimovski graduated in 1984 at the School of Economi ...

(Ph.D., 1994), Minister in the

Government of Slovenia The Government of the Republic of Slovenia ( sl, Vlada Republike Slovenije) exercises executive authority in Slovenia pursuant to the Constitution and the laws of Slovenia. It is also the highest administrative authority in Slovenia. The governmen ...

Ed Feighan Edward Farrell "Ed" Feighan (born October 22, 1947) is a former American politician. He served as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives, and as a Democratic Party U.S. Representative from 1983 to 1993, serving Ohio's 19th congressional di ...

(J.D., 1978), U.S. Congressman *

Ed FitzGerald Edward FitzGerald (born July 10, 1968) is an American businessman, attorney, and entrepreneur who previously served as a law enforcement officer and public official in the Greater Cleveland Metropolitan Area. Early life FitzGerald was born ...

, first

Cuyahoga County Council The Cuyahoga County Council is the legislative branch of the government of Cuyahoga County in Ohio. Cuyahoga, along with Summit, is one of only two of Ohio's 88 counties not governed by a three-member commission. The council and county executiv ...

Executive, former mayor of

Lakewood, Ohio Lakewood is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, on the southern shore of Lake Erie. Established in 1889, it is one of Cleveland's historical streetcar suburbs and part of the Greater Cleveland, Greater Clevelan ...

George L. Forbes George Lawrence Forbes (born April 4, 1931) is an American politician of the Democratic Party. From 1974 to 1989, Forbes served as president of the Cleveland City Council. He is the former President of the Cleveland NAACP and is semi-retired fr ...

, Cleveland City Council President, Cleveland NAACP President *

Marcia Fudge Marcia Louise Fudge (born October 29, 1952) is an American attorney and politician serving as the 18th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, United States secretary of housing and urban development since 2021. A member of the D ...

, Chairwoman of the

Congressional Black Caucus The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) is a caucus made up of most African-American members of the United States Congress. Representative Karen Bass from California chaired the caucus from 2019 to 2021; she was succeeded by Representative Joyce ...

in the

113th Congress The 113th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, from January 3, 2013, to January 3, 2015, during the fifth and sixth years of Barack Obama's presidency. It was composed of the ...

, 18th

United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development The United States secretary of housing and urban development (or HUD secretary) is the head of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, a member of the president's Cabinet, and thirteenth in the presidential line of succe ...

Daniel Gaul Daniel Gaul (born 1953) is an American judge for the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court. Gaul was first elected to the court in 1991. Early life and education Gaul was born in 1953. Gaul attended Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin School in Chardon, Ohi ...

, judge for the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court * Dan Huberty, member of the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abou ...

from

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Frank G. Jackson Frank George Jackson (born October 4, 1946) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 57th Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio from 2006 to 2022. He was first elected on November 8, 2005, unseating incumbent Jane Campbell, and re-elected in 2 ...

, 57th Mayor of the City of Cleveland *

Frank Lausche Frank John Lausche (; November 14, 1895 – April 21, 1990) was an American Democratic politician from Ohio. He served as the 47th mayor of Cleveland and the 55th and 57th governor of Ohio, and also served as a United States Senator from Ohio ...

, 55th and 57th Governor of Ohio, Ohio Senator, 47th mayor of Cleveland * Max Miller, U.S. Congressman * Donald C. Nugent (J.D., 1974) Federal District Court Judge *

Maureen O'Connor Maureen O'Connor (born August 7, 1951) is an American lawyer and judge serving as the chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court. She was elected to the court in 2002, becoming chief justice in 2010. Prior to this, O'Connor served as an associate ...

(J.D., 1980), current Ohio Supreme Court Justice *

Terrence O'Donnell Terrence O'Donnell (born c. 1946) is a former associate justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio. Education He graduated in 1964 from St. Edward High School, an all-boys Catholic high school on Cleveland's west side. He did his undergraduate stud ...

(J.D., 1971), current Ohio Supreme Court Justice *

C. J. Prentiss C. J. Prentiss is an American politician of the United States Democratic Party, Democratic party who served in the Ohio State Senate from 1999 until 2007. During the 126th Ohio General Assembly, she served as Minority Leader. Prentiss grew up i ...

, Ohio State Senator, founder of Policy Matters Ohio *

Andrew Puzder Andrew Franklin Puzder (born July 11, 1950) is an American attorney, author, and businessman. He is the former chief executive officer of CKE Restaurants, the parent company of Hardee's and Carl's Jr., a position he held from September 2000 to ...

(B.A., 1975), CEO of

CKE Restaurants CKE Restaurants Holdings (an acronym from Carl Karcher Enterprises) is an American fast food corporation and is the parent organization for the Carl's Jr., Hardee's, Green Burrito, and Red Burrito brands. CKE Restaurants is a subsidiary of the priv ...

Secretary of Labor The United States Secretary of Labor is a member of the Cabinet of the United States, and as the head of the United States Department of Labor, controls the department, and enforces and suggests laws involving unions, the workplace, and all ot ...

-designate (for

President-elect An ''officer-elect'' is a person who has been elected to a position but has not yet been installed. Notably, a president who has been elected but not yet installed would be referred to as a ''president-elect'' (e.g. president-elect of the Unit ...

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

) *

Shawn Richards Shawn Kenneth Richards (born 8 December 1972) is a Saint Kitts and Nevis politician from People's Action Movement. In politics Richards has been the leader of the People's Action Movement since 2012, and a member of the National Assembly of Saint ...

, member of the

National Assembly of Saint Kitts and Nevis The National Assembly and the King of Saint Christopher and Nevis jointly make up the legislature of Saint Kitts and Nevis. Composition of the National Assembly The assembly has 14 or 15 members (depending upon circumstances), 11 of whom are ele ...

* Chris Ronayne (MUPDD), 3rd

County Executive of Cuyahoga County, Ohio The County Executive of Cuyahoga County, the second largest county in Ohio, and the 29th largest county by population in the United States, is the elected chief executive of the Cuyahoga County government. Democrat Chris Ronanye is the current cou ...

* Carl B. Stokes (J.D., 1956), first African American mayor of a major U.S. city (

) *

Louis Stokes Louis Stokes (February 23, 1925 – August 18, 2015) was an American attorney, civil rights pioneer and politician. He served 15 terms in the United States House of Representatives – representing the east side of Cleveland – and was the firs ...

(J.D., 1953), 15-term Democratic

Congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

* Francis E. Sweeney Sr. (J.D., 1963), former Ohio Supreme Court Justice *

Ike Thompson Isaiah "Ike" Thompson (November 8, 1915 – June 25, 1995) was a former member of the Ohio House of Representatives, serving the 14th district (portions of Glenville, Cleveland, Glenville, Euclid, Ohio, Euclid, Bratenahl, and East Cleveland, Ohio ...

, member of the Ohio House of Representatives *

Kahlil Seren Kahlil Seren (born October 17, 1978) is an American politician, former local government advisor, and the first directly elected Mayor of Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Before becoming Mayor, Seren served for ten years as a Policy Advisor for Cuyahoga ...

(MSUS, 2010), 1st elected Mayor of

Cleveland Heights, Ohio Cleveland Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, and one of Cleveland's historical streetcar suburbs. The city's population was 45,312 at the 2020 census. As of the 2010 census, Cleveland Heights was ranked the 8th larges ...

* Lesley B. Wells (J.D., 1974), Federal District Court Judge *

Pamela Evette Pamela Sue Evette (née Gajoch; born August 28, 1967) is an American politician and businesswoman and the 93rd lieutenant governor of South Carolina since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, she was the CEO of Quality Business Solutions in U ...

(B.B.A), Lt. Governor of South Carolina

Sports

Johnny Bedford John Charles "Johnny" Bedford (born January 6, 1983) is an American retired mixed martial artist and bare knuckle boxer. A professional since 2003, he has fought in the UFC, Bellator, the Legacy Fighting Alliance, and was a competitor on Spike ...

(attended), wrestler; professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

, formerly with the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

J'Nathan Bullock J'Nathan Bullock (born June 25, 1987) is an American professional basketball player. He played college basketball at Cleveland State University. He was signed by the New York Jets of the National Football League as an undrafted free agent in 200 ...

, professional basketball player *

Norris Cole Norris Gene Cole II (born October 13, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for Grand Rapids Gold of the NBA G League. A 6' 2" point guard, he is a two-time NBA champion, winning back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013 with the Miami ...

, two-time NBA Champion basketball player * M-Dogg 20/Matt Cross, born Matthew Capiccioni (B.A. 2006), professional wrestler *

Jerry Dybzinski Jerome Matthew "Jerry" Dybzinski (born July 7, 1955) is an American former professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox, and Pittsburgh Pirates. Career Dybzinski attended ...

, former professional baseball player *

Franklin Edwards Franklin Delano Edwards (born February 2, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player who was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round (22nd pick overall) of the 1981 NBA draft. A 6'1" point guard from Cleveland State ...

, former professional basketball player * Darren Tillis, former NBA player *

Gerald Harris Gerald Harris (born November 19, 1979) is an American retired mixed martial artist and current high school science teacher, who most recently fought in Bellator. He was a cast member of Spike TV's ''The Ultimate Fighter 7'' and has also compet ...

(History), all-time record for wins on the wrestling team; current professional

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

fighter *

Cedric Jackson Cedric Lamar Jackson (born March 5, 1986) is an American former professional basketball player. He played two years of college basketball for Cleveland State University, where he made a notable game-winning full-court shot against Syracuse and hel ...

, NBA basketball player * Trey Lewis (born 1992), basketball player in the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of professional sports, professional competition in Israeli sports club, club basketball, making ...

Stipe Miocic Stipe Miocic (born August 19, 1982) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former two-time UFC Heavyweight Champion. Miocic i ...

(Communications/Marketing), baseball player; professional

MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on strike (attack), striking, grappling and ground f ...

fighter; two-time

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

Heavyweight Champion * Clinton Smith, former NBA basketball player * D'Moi Hodge, NBA basketball player

Other

Jerome Caja Jerome Caja (1958-1995) was an American mixed-media painter and Queercore performance artist in San Francisco, California in the 1980s and early 1990s. Early life and education Jerome Caja was born on January 20, 1958 in Cleveland, Ohio. Raised in ...

, performance artist * Ali Haghighi, biochemist * Gladisa Guadalupe, ballet dancer, artistic director and co-founder of the current

Cleveland Ballet The Cleveland Ballet was founded in Cleveland in 1972 by Dennis Nahat and Ian Horvath as a dance school, the School of Cleveland Ballet. It was the second incarnation of the Cleveland Ballet, having been preceded a ballet company of the same name ...

(B.A.) * Ryan "Dr. F" Farrell, bass guitarist and keyboardist for American heavy metal band

Mushroomhead Mushroomhead is an American heavy metal band from Cleveland, Ohio. Formed in 1993 in the Cleveland Warehouse District, the band is known for their avant-garde sound and horror film-inspired imagery which features masks and costumes as well as ...

( B.M. 2020) ( M.M. 2022) *

Kid Leo Lawrence James Travagliante—better known by his on-air moniker Kid Leo—serves as both General Manager and afternoon disc jockey on Little Steven's Underground Garage on Sirius XM Radio (channel 21). He first began in radio in 1973 at noted ...

, General Manager and afternoon DJ on

Little Steven's Underground Garage ''Underground Garage'' is the name shared by two related but different radio outlets, a syndicated show and a satellite radio station, both created and supervised by American musician Steven Van Zandt (best known as a guitarist in Bruce Springst ...

Sirius XM Radio Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sat ...

(attended) (Honorary

D.H.L. The degree of Doctor of Humane Letters (; DHumLitt; DHL; or LHD) is an honorary degree awarded to those who have distinguished themselves through humanitarian and philanthropic contributions to society. The criteria for awarding the degree differ ...

, 2022) * Lee Ann Liska (M.B.A.), hospital administrator * Kenneth A. Loparo, mechanical engineering professor *

Scott Raab Scott Raab (born March 21, 1952) is an American nonfiction author and former contributing journalist for '' Esquire''. Early years Scott Raab was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1952. The Raab family relocated to Los Angeles in 1960, but after his pa ...

(B.A., 1984), writer, ''

Esquire Magazine ''Esquire'' is an American men's magazine. Currently published in the United States by Hearst Communications, it also has more than 20 international editions. Founded in 1933, it flourished during the Great Depression and World War II under t ...

'' * Chris Ronayne, President of University Circle Inc. * Emry Hollopeter, Notable Steel Bridge mentor *

Tim Russert Timothy John Russert (May 7, 1950 – June 13, 2008) was an American television journalist and lawyer who appeared for more than 16 years as the longest-serving moderator of NBC's ''Meet the Press''. He was a senior vice president at NBC News, Wa ...

(J.D., 1976), author;

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

Washington bureau chief; moderator of NBC's ''

Meet the Press ''Meet the Press'' is a weekly American television news/interview program broadcast on NBC. It is the longest-running program on American television, though the current format bears little resemblance to the debut episode on November 6, 1947. ' ...

'' * J. Everett Prewitt, novelist, former army officer. * Steve Wood, Anglican bishop of the Carolinas

References

{{Cleveland State University *

Cleveland State University people Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...