Cleveland State University today announced that two generous donors have made individual gift commitments of $1 million each in support of student education, faculty research and endowed professorships.

Paul J. Everson’s $1 million gift will create the Paul J. Everson Center for the Study of Real Estate Brokerage/Agency and Markets in the Nance College of Business Administration and the Paul J. Everson Endowed Distinguished Professorship within the Center. The Distinguished Professorship is the first in the College of Business.

Betty L. Gordon’s $1 million gift will create the Betty L. Gordon Alternative Energy Research Endowment and the Betty L. Gordon Endowed Distinguished Professorship, both in the Fenn College of Engineering. The Distinguished Professorship is the first in the College of Engineering.

“Paul Everson and Betty Gordon are long-time supporters of Cleveland State,” said President Michael Schwartz. “They also are visionaries, deeply committed to the future growth of our University, faculty and students. We are very excited about these new initiatives and most grateful for their generous donations.

These major gifts will support the outstanding faculty and engaged learning experience that define our great University, while helping our Nance College of Business and Fenn College of Engineering realize their fullest potential for serving our community and educating future generations of students,” Dr. Schwartz added.

The Everson Center will advance the real estate program in the Nance College through education, research and community interaction. The Betty Gordon Endowment will support and advance research in the fields of alternative energy, green technology and sustainability. Both the Everson and Gordon Distinguished Professors will be appointed for renewable five-year terms.

For more than 40 years, the name Paul J. Everson has been synonymous with real estate in Northeast Ohio. The retired president of Paul J. Everson & Associates has worked diligently to advance the business of real estate as a broker, agent, developer and educator.

Everson has served as president of the Cleveland Area Board of REALTORs®, the Ohio Association of REALTORs®, the Northeast Ohio Apartment Association, the Euclid Development Corporation and the Ohio Real Estate Commission. He also has been a director and/or trustee of the Real Estate Political Education Committee, the National Association of REALTORs® and the Ohio Real Estate Commission.

In 1992, he established the Paul J. Everson Scholarship Fund to support students studying real estate finance at Cleveland State.

“I am proud to support Cleveland State University and the education of students whose careers will be vital to Northeastern Ohio’s future growth and prosperity,” said Everson.

Gordon has been a staunch supporter of an alternative energy/wind tower project being done by Dr. Majid Rashidi, professor of mechanical engineering. Her late husband, Gerald Gordon, was a two-time CSU alumnus, eight-year member of the University’s board of trustees and former owner and president of the Sun Newspapers. Past gifts from the Gordons have included the establishment of an endowed scholarship in the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs and support for the Viking basketball program.

“Private support for public higher education is an absolute necessity,” says Gordon. “Schools can’t do it on their own -– they need contributions from alumni and friends.”

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