News & Announcements

Philanthropic Support of CSU Ranks Among Most Generous in Northeast Ohio

Generous gifts to Cleveland State University from the Cleveland Foundation and from Donald and Pamela Washkewicz ranked among the Top 20 philanthropic gifts last year in Northeast Ohio, according to the “Largest 2015 NEO Philanthropic Gifts” list compiled by Crain’s Cleveland Business.

CSU received $5.5 million in June 2015 from the Cleveland Foundation to support the NEOMED-CSU Partnership for Urban Health, a collaboration between Northeast Ohio Medical University and CSU that recruits and trains medical students who reflect the socioeconomic background and cultural makeup of their communities to address and eliminate health disparities. This was the third grant – and largest to date – for the partnership from the Cleveland Foundation, preceded by a $250,000 grant in 2010 and a $1.5 million grant in 2011.

CSU received $5 million in May 2015 from alumnus Donald Washkewicz, former chairman of Parker Hannifin, and his wife, Pamela, for enhancing engineering education at the University. This was the second major gift in two years from the Washkewicz family, which along with the Parker Hannifin Foundation donated a combined $10 million to CSU in 2014. In recognition of the transformational gift, CSU’s College of Engineering was renamed in the family’s honor.

The most recent gifts from the Cleveland Foundation and the Washkewicz family were received as part of Engage: The Campaign for Cleveland State University, a major fund-raising initiative launched last year. To date, the campaign has raised more than $83.7 million for scholarships and student-success programs at CSU.