Cleveland State University President Laura Bloomberg, who has led the university for less than two years, is heading to the University of Minnesota this week as one of three finalists interviewing for that school’s top job.
Cleveland State’s student-run news organization, the Cleveland Stater, was first to report the news Friday night.
Bloomberg is slated to visit the institution’s five campuses for forums and open houses from Wednesday, Feb. 14, to Friday, Feb. 16. But, according to the Stater’s reporting, Bloomberg told Cleveland State’s community they’ll still be top of mind.
“Please be assured that even while I will be spending time this coming week in Minnesota, I remain singularly focused… on the important work underway right here at CSU,” Bloomberg wrote in an email, according to the Stater.
Minnesota ties
Bloomberg’s links to the University of Minnesota are strong. She earned a doctorate degree from the flagship institution of the state where she was born and raised. Plus, she held several roles across the university, including as a professor, researcher, and dean of its school of public affairs.
She’s not the only Cleveland higher education leader with a connection to the Land of 10,000 lakes. Bloomberg worked with current Case Western Reserve University President Eric Kaler when he oversaw the University of Minnesota for nearly a decade.
“She’s just terrific,” Kaler told Crain’s Cleveland Business about Bloomberg in 2022.
Leaders in Minnesota are looking to replace Joan Gabel, who left last summer to lead the University of Pittsburgh.
Bloomberg’s accomplishments at Cleveland State
Bloomberg called working as Cleveland State’s eighth president a “true honor” in a statement sent via email Sunday to Signal Cleveland. She came to Cleveland State as its provost in 2021 and became the university’s leader a year later after the sudden ouster of her predecessor, Harlan Sands.
“There is only one other position at one other institution that could possibly speak to my heart as much as CSU does, and that is my alma mater, the University of Minnesota,” said Bloomberg.
Her tenure so far has been busy, marked by action items such as ushering in a new branding campaign and realigning some of its colleges as part of the university’s ambitious “CSU 2.0” plan. Amidst all of that, Cleveland State has seen big enrollment drops amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as a reported $11.5 million current budget deficit.
Most college presidents stay in their roles for about six years, according to the most recent data available from the American Council on Education. If Bloomberg takes this new job in Minnesota, she would log only about two years in Cleveland State’s top spot.
What comes next for Cleveland State
This presidential news comes as Cleveland State has been in the headlines over the past few weeks, including for being in talks to potentially absorb the financially struggling Notre Dame College as well as for recently entering into a $900,000 contract with accounting and consulting firm Ernst & Young.
Cleveland State officials said the university “remains on a strategic path toward achieving its institutional goals and ensuring organizational resilience and financial stability in the years ahead,” adding that Bloomberg “remains focused on her responsibilities as CSU’s eighth president.”
Officials said they would have no additional comment to share until the University of Minnesota completes its search.
