CSU presidency and controversies
CSU reported a $150 million budget shortfall in July 2024 due to declining enrollment trends which also occurred at other universities across Ohio, [5] [6] and froze or eliminated 42 bachelor and master degree programs. [7] In July 2025, Bloomberg announced CSU would be shutting down its U-Pass program, limiting access to public transit for those previously issued passes. [8] In September 2025, more cuts were reported, specifically targeting CSU's LGBTQ+ and Women's Center [9] and other campus programs related to Diversity, Equality, & Inclusion (DEI) initiatives as a result of Ohio Senate Bill 1, passed on June 27, 2025, [10] despite Bloomberg's opposition. [11] On August 28, 2025, Bloomberg announced CSU entered into negotiations with the United Soccer League that called for the demolition of the Wolstein Center. [12] [13] CSU sold their presidential house in Cleveland Heights for $1 million in late September 2025, with the university estimating an annual savings of $145,000; Bloomberg opted to reside in the city. [14] [15] By December 2025, Bloomberg asserted the university now operated on a balanced budget even as contract negotiations between CSU, the AAUP and SEIU District 1199 were still ongoing. [11]
WCSB, the university's radio station, was leased out to Ideastream Public Media on October 3, 2025, under an eight-year [16] public service operating agreement, with Ideastream's mainstream jazz service supplanting the prior campus format. [17] Prior to this, CSU failed to provide promised scholarships to student staff for the upcoming academic year and the station's faculty advisor retired. [18] Bloomberg described the lease, which was announced abruptly after months of internal negotiations, [19] as "cost neutral". [20] [21] University police escorted staff out of the WCSB studios minutes after the announcement was made; [22] Bloomberg later asserted the staff were broadcasting without authorization and were let in by the same campus police after their keycard access had been revoked. [11] CSU, Bloomberg and Ideastream were criticized and protested by students, on-air volunteers, community leaders and Cleveland City Council. [23] [24] [25] Bloomberg was named to Ideastream's board of directors as part of the agreement. [16] Bloomberg defended the WCSB changeover in a December 2025 interview with The Cleveland Stater, while also denouncing some of the criticism as "pretty vicious feedback" and that several postings and comments were turned over to the FBI as "threatening". [11]
