Cleveland University Presidents Enjoy Tailor-Made Housing Options

Cleveland-area university presidents lead their schools through the competitive world of higher education. Presidents are often provided with comfortable residences on campus or nearby where they can live, work and entertain university guests.

Youngstown State University

The university recently designated the 117-year-old Pollock House as the new presidential residence.

YSU President David Sweet will retire on June 30, and his successor, Cynthia Anderson, will move into Pollock House after a $4 million renovation.

Paul Wick built the home in 1893, and the family of his daughter, Mary Pollock, donated the 16-room home to YSU after her death in 1949.

A 64-room hotel was built onto the back of the building when a private developer converted it into the Wick Pollock Inn. YSU's renovations will include the removal of the hotel, which has been vacant since 1998.

Case Western Reserve University

President Barbara Snyder lives on campus in Harcourt House. It was built in 1906 based on a design by Abram Garfield, son of President James Garfield.

In the mid-'50s, Harcourt House was owned by Samuel Halle, who co-founded the Halle Brothers department stores. He hosted luminaries such as Winston Churchill, George Gershwin, Sinclair Lewis and Adm. Richard Byrd.

The university, which has owned the Harcourt House for two decades, also uses it for meetings and special events.

Oberlin College

President Marvin Krislov lives in Williams House, a Georgian-style brick home on campus built in 1917 for physics professor Samuel R. Williams.

Krislov hosts events for faculty, students and alumni. He also welcomes dignitaries for dinners and receptions.

The Oberlin College president traditionally holds his last class of the semester at Williams House.

Cleveland State University

CSU welcomed its president, Ronald Berkman, in the summer of 2009 and provided him with a home in Shaker Heights.

"Our president uses the home to entertain prospective donors to the university, as well as other university-related occasions where there is a social component," said Rob Spademan, the school's assistant vice president of marketing.

"The home that was purchased for him was remodeled, causing him to move in near the end of 2009," Spademan added. "He is only beginning to actually use the home."

The University of Akron

The University of Akron provides President Luis Proenza with a single-family home in Akron not far from campus. He and his wife, Theresa, hold university-related meetings and events at their home.

Kent State University

President Lester Lefton and his wife own a four-bedroom, four-bathroom home in the city of Kent. It was built in 2006.

"Kent State University is the only state university in Ohio that does not provide, as a condition of employment, a university-owned residence and all associated operating costs," said the school's media relations director, Emily Vincent.

John Carroll University

The university's president, the Rev. Robert Niehoff, lives in Schell House with his fellow Jesuit priests. The home features a built-in chapel for their religious services.

Sources:

http://media.www.buchtelite.com/media/storage/paper1203/news/2008/04/10/News/Proenza.Lives.In.Modest.Home-3314510.shtml