By: Jenna Thomas
Cleveland State University is looking ahead and considering life after the pandemic. In a press release published in late October, the university laid out a plan and framework for how to shape Cleveland’s emergence in a post-COVID-19 world. This plan included:
- Develop educational pipelines geared specifically for industries projected to be in high demand—specifically, health care related jobs. Community health has been a focal point these last 9 months and will continue to remain relevant for years to come. The “CSU 2.0” plan will consider new ways of fueling the demand for health care jobs through the creation of new programs, certifications, and course content.
- Address the disparities between health care options in Cleveland’s health outcomes of Cleveland’s residents. Despite being home to world-renowned hospital systems, Clevelanders see poor health outcomes as rates above the national average. CSU intends to leverage its position as a research university to lead a community-wide initiative to change this inequity.
- Create an Innovation District focused on research and job creation. Community leaders of MidTown are considering ways to attract innovators and companies to the area, and directly connecting students with paid internship or job opportunities.
- Sets a goal of providing 1.5 Million Ohioans and 315,000 Northeast Ohioans with 4-year degrees. This concept focuses specifically on nontraditional students who have some or no college experience. The purpose of this goal is to stimulate the economy and provide people with pathways out of poverty. The timeline of this goal was not specified.
- Use partnerships to recruit talent and develop the region economically. The press release details some current examples of this, including a collaboration with Case Western on positioning Cleveland as a leader in digital innovation.
The university has recognized that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought the region to a point where community leaders and everyday people cannot turn away from the broken parts of society that have shown through due to the pandemic.