Cleveland State announced Feb. 10 that Lee Fisher, J.D., dean of CSU College of Law and Joseph C. Hostetler-Baker Chair in Law would be stepping down to take over this summer as president of Baldwin Wallace University (BWU) in Berea, Ohio.

“While we are saddened to say goodbye to an exceptional colleague, leader and educator, we are very pleased for him, the Baldwin Wallace community and Northeast Ohio,” CSU's President Dr. Laura Bloomberg said in an email to the community announcing the move.

Dr. Fisher joined CSU Law as an interim dean in 2016 and became dean in 2017. Through his leadership, CSU Law has grown its programs, clinics and centers and even launched new clinics. He helped the college become one of the first law schools in the nation to launch a part-time online Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D.) program, and in the fall of 2024, CSU Law saw a 96% increase in enrollment for first-year students since 2016.

As dean, Fisher also originated the P. Kelly Tompkins Leadership and Law Program and established the CSU College of Law Hall of Fame to recognize members of the CSU Law community who embody their motto of “Learn Law. Live Justice.” Throughout the years, he has won various awards in his law career and for the service and engagement he has given to his community. 

Fisher is an experienced attorney, public servant and nonprofit and higher education leader. He served on the Oberlin College Board of Trustees, speaking nationwide about the importance of a college degree as resident/CEO of CEOs for Cities. 

He has also held positions in the Ohio government, serving as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives and the Ohio Senate from 1981 to 1990, as Ohio’s 44th Attorney General  from  1991-1995, and working as the 64th Lieutenant Governor from 2007-2011.  

While his extensive resume lists other jobs in the Ohio government, he held positions as of counsel and partner with the Cleveland-based firm Hahn Loeser and in 2022, Fisher was inducted in the Cleveland Magazine Business Hall of Fame for his decades-long work on Ohio regional and state economic development.

“Cleveland State University and the College of Law are dear to me, and I will be forever grateful for the special opportunity to work with such outstanding students, staff, faculty, alumni and university leaders,” Fisher said. “Thankfully, Baldwin Wallace University and CSU are close neighbors. I look forward to the continued success of both institutions in the years to come.”

Provost Nigamanth Sridhar, Ph.D. will announce the university’s plan to fill the vacant deanship in the coming weeks.

“Please join us in congratulating Dean Fisher on his upcoming presidency and career milestone,” President Bloomberg said.