Welcome center is a great new starting point for Cleveland State University

Cleveland State University has been striving to change the "feel" of its campus for several years now, and the results have been healthy, to say the least.
Just for fun, Jim Pressler of Cleveland and daughter Claire try out the photo booth at the newly opened Cleveland State University welcome center.

What was once an enclosed, concrete fortress has steadily been transformed into an outward-looking, far more inviting center of higher learning. What was once widely seen as "just a commuter school" is working hard to become a real residential campus.

This fall came the latest architectural change -- one that the general public won't see, but that prospective students and their parents will: A new welcome center is now the place where admissions counselors work, where campus tours are launched and where newcomers get their first inkling of what CSU is like.

The welcome center is nestled among the new Euclid Commons dorms, right at the heart of residential campus life. It's a place that gives prospective students an opportunity to connect with CSU's history and envision their own futures in and beyond college. It's a vibe changer, and that's a good thing.

(Article Courtesy of Cleveland.com)

Brain Gain: Developing best and brightest starts in college

All week, we've been telling you about companies and industries adding job opportunities. So, is the brain drain all a misconception?

If you believe the numbers, a recent census shows a brain drain. With more than 9,800 25 to 29 year olds leaving Cleveland. The numbers are higher for the 30 to 39 age group and older.

"So many of our young people, they may go to college at Cleveland State or Tri-C, Case or Lorain community college, and leave the state too often after graduation," says Sen. Sherrod Brown.

Brown is taking the fight to stop a brain drain to Washington. He is now holding forums with Ohio college and university presidents to brainstorm. And the new initiative is to connect businesses with current students.

"One of the things is internships. If a student gets a good internship at a local business or a local not for profit in euclid or westlake or Cleveland or Akron, there's a very good chance that student will keep that tie with that local organization and stay in greater Cleveland."

But is the trend reversing itself?

"What we find in the state of Ohio is about 75 percent of the graduates from Ohio colleges and universities are still here either working or taking more school about a year later. That is exactly on the national average," says Thomas Waltermire with Team NEO.

Team NEO has looked at data over the past few years and says young people are finding the opportunities they need in the jobs they want.

And if you look at Ohio for graduation to job ratio, Waltermire points to the fact that Northeast Ohio has more colleges per capita than most U-S cities.

So, there's no surprise there would be more graduates than jobs.

For young minds in Northeast Ohio, there are places to look for opportunity. Click on the video links provided to the right of this story.

John Carroll University is now accepting applications for the Woodrow Wilson Ohio Teaching Fellowship program. Information for anyone who wants to get their masters and has a math and science background is also included at the right hand side of this web page.

(Article courtesy of WKYC.com)