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Changing times for campus leadership Local university president departures reflect U.S. trends By TIMOTHY MAGAW tmagaw@crain.com
Luis Proenza’s bombshell announcement last week that he
would step down from the helm of the University of Akron next summer after 15 years on the job was the latest in a series of presidential shakeups that have the potential to
dramatically alter higher education in the state of Ohio, particularly in the northeastern part of the state. Last spring, for instance, Kent State’s Lester Lefton announced he
INSIDE: A look at the exit dates for six prominent university presidents in Ohio. Page 17 would step down next summer after seven years on the job. Youngstown State’s Cynthia Anderson this summer vacated the top post at the fi-
nancially hard-pressed university after three years at the helm. Moreover, longtime Cuyahoga Community College president Jerry Sue Thornton, a fixture in the Ohio higher education landscape for the last two decades, stepped See TIME Page 17
‘Reset’ by PD is puzzling to many Top executives say newspaper isn’t abandoning print with digital focus By JAY MILLER jmiller@crain.com
he conversation began on May 30, 22 days after Kevin Griffin was hired as the Cleveland Browns’ vice president of fan experience and marketing, a position created by the team’s new regime to fill a void much larger than any hole forged by All-Pro left tackle Joe Thomas — the franchise’s disconnect with its rabid fans. Mr. Griffin, whose position is a rare one in professional sports, received a tweet in late May from @NotSCCleveland, a “SportsCenter” parody account.
The first installment in an extensive investigation by two Plain Dealer reporters on the failure of Cleveland police to follow up on medical evidence gathered from rape victims over two decades rolled out last Monday, Aug. 5. But not in The Plain Dealer, which for decades has been the dominant daily news medium in Northeast Ohio. Instead, it appeared on Cleveland.com, the website owned, like The Plain Dealer, by Advance Publications Inc. The newspaper’s print home delivery subscribers didn’t even receive a home-delivered paper that day. Printonly readers were unaware until they received their Sunday, Aug. 11, newspaper that Leila Atassi, Rachel Dissell and 16 others in the news organization had invested months of work creating a multimedia package called “Reinvestigating Rape.”
See ENGAGED Page 7
See PD Page 9
JOHN REID
Browns vice president of fan experience and marketing Kevin Griffin, left, speaks with “Cleveland Browns Daily” co-host Vic Carucci on the field prior to the team’s preseason opener Thursday, Aug. 8 at FirstEnergy Stadium.
ENGAGED, T AT LAST
By KEVIN KLEPS kkleps@crain.com
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New hire Kevin Griffin is giving the Browns’ rabid fans their say
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SMALL BUSINESS Crowdfunding is challenging, but can give entrepreneurs a needed boost ■ Pages 11-15 PLUS: ADVISER ■ TAX TIPS ■ SUMMER FESTIVALS ■ & MORE
Entire contents © 2013 by Crain Communications Inc. Vol. 34, No. 32