10.6.16

AS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY

Thank you, Dr. Perse.

I echo your enthusiasm for a more formal alliance between St. Vincent Charity Medical Center and Cleveland State University.

As anchor institutions, we recognize our responsibility to serve the people of Cleveland to connect our city’s residents to the glistening new downtown that captured the spotlight during the Republican National Convention and the Cavs championship.

Together, St. Vincent and CSU are going to stimulate even more positive change.

At the core of everything we do at CSU is our philosophy of Engaged Learning, which extends our classrooms into the city itself.

Engaged Learning prepares our students to succeed in their chosen professions by combining higher education and hands-on experience through co-ops, internships and other real-world opportunities.

If you want to see Engaged Learning in action, look no further than the collaboration between St. Vincent and CSU.

St. Vincent is a teaching site for CSU’s joint medical degree program with Northeast Ohio Medical University, which is dedicated to training a more diverse group of health-care professionals to meet the unique health-care needs of urban neighborhoods.

St. Vincent also is a teaching site for CSU’s nursing program.

At St. Vincent, CSU students have an excellent opportunity to engage with the community while gaining invaluable experience in urban medicine.

The common ground doesn’t end there.

As you just heard, CSU’s Washkewicz College of Engineering is collaborating with St. Vincent’s Spine and Orthopedic Institute.

Together, we’ll develop novel prosthetics that will greatly enhance mobility and quality of life for people with disabilities.

Looking to the future, Dr. Perse and I are turning our attention to how we might have an impact on addiction and mental health in our community.

St. Vincent, through Rosary Hall, has significant experience in these areas.

CSU’s School of Social Work also is a leading regional source for the next generation of mental health professionals.

In the months ahead, we will announce a new plan for pooling the resources of our institutions to serve those who deal with mental health and drug dependency issues.

On behalf of Cleveland State University, I am most grateful to Dr. Perse, to St. Vincent Charity Medical Center and to all of you for your support of this partnership.

I am excited about Cleveland’s future and the vital role that our two institutions will play in shaping a better tomorrow, for the benefit of all.