Cleveland State University on Feb. 10 announced that Lee Fisher, J.D., dean of the CSU College of Law, was leaving Cleveland State at the end of the spring 2025 semester to assume the presidency of Baldwin Wallace University.

Dr. Fisher joined CSU as interim dean of CSU Law in 2016 and was promoted to dean in 2017.

The Cleveland Stater recently spoke to Dean Fisher about his time at CSU and hopes for the future.

“Leaving CSU Law is bittersweet," Fisher said. "While I’m very excited about this rare opportunity to lead Baldwin Wallace, an iconic university, I will always cherish my time serving this iconic law school. Serving as dean the past nine years has been one of the greatest honors of my life.”

Fisher is no stranger to leadership in the region. He was the Ohio attorney general from 1991 to 1995, and served as lieutenant governor from 2007 to 2011. He has served in the Ohio House of Representatives and Senate and as legal counsel for Ohio’s public universities.

That experience and his tenure as Dean of Law at CSU is sure to carry over to his new position as the 10th president of BWU in Berea, Ohio, beginning July 1.

During Dr. Fisher's time at Cleveland State, CSU Law has grown its programs, clinics and center. This includes the launch of new clinics: The Terry Gilbert Wrongful Conviction Clinic; The Pre-Trial Justice Clinic; The Pardon, Clemency, and Re-entry Clinic; and The David Braff Animal Law Clinic/Center. 

“Our law school’s efforts have spanned a variety of initiatives, but the thread that has bound them together has been our students," Fisher said. "They are our North Star – we are committed to their personal and professional lifelong success."

“There is nothing more meaningful to me than to have been part of their journey," he added. "It has been a privilege to watch our students learn and grow, reflect and debate, and to witness them becoming lawyer-leaders."

Fisher described the relationship between the law and justice that anchored his time at Cleveland State.

“Most fundamentally, we have been guided by our mission: Learn Law. Live Justice. What does that mean?" he asked. "To me, it means that law is the means, justice is the end.”

To that end, he has guided a generation of students as they learned how to put that guiding principle to work.

“I have watched eight classes of students graduate and step into the world and I look forward to watching the Class of 2025 graduate this May,” Fisher said, emphasizing his passion for law and how Cleveland State impacted him as a teacher and leader.

“I quickly fell in love with our law school when I arrived in 2016 and will always be grateful for the special opportunity to work with such talented students, staff, faculty and university colleagues," Fisher said. "I’ve been inspired by our faculty’s commitment to teaching our students and producing scholarship that grapples with some of our society’s biggest challenges."

He also paid tribute to the Law School staff and alumni for their service to the school and students. 

"I’ve been inspired by our staff whose tireless work around the clock to serve our students is too often underappreciated," Fisher said. "And it has been one of the great joys of my life to work with the most loyal, engaged, and supportive alumni of any law school in the nation, helping to open doors for our students and graduates every day.”

Dean Fisher is confident of the CSU law school's future.

“We are a law school on the rise. We recently enrolled the largest first year class in 15 years, a 96% increase in enrollment since 2016," he told The Stater, outlining some of the school's recent achievements and innovations.

"We broke new ground by being one of the first law schools in the nation to launch a part-time online J.D. program, providing access to a legal education and new careers for many throughout the country who never before thought it would be possible because of family and work commitments," he said. "We’ve strategically expanded our curriculum, programs and centers of excellence to meet the fast-changing needs of the legal market.”

Dr. Fisher paid tribute to the support CSU has given him and the confidence it inspired.

“I have no doubt that even better and brighter days lie ahead for CSU Law and for the University under the extraordinary leadership of President Laura Bloomberg and Provost Nigamanth Sridhar,” Dean Fisher said. “New challenges lie ahead such as the study and integration of AI into legal education, and preparation for the NextGen Bar Exam. With the next era of leadership will come opportunities for new ideas, fresh perspectives and exciting innovations.”

Dean Fisher finished on a heartfelt note.

“I will always be thankful to the CSU Law community for trusting me with the responsibility of leading this extraordinary law school. It has been an honor and a joy, and I’ll remain committed to our law school’s mission and success for the rest of my life.”