Dr. Michael Schwartz
(1937 - 2024)
A True Friend of the Library
by Glenda Thornton, PhD
Library Director, 1998-2019
Former CSU President, Dr. Michael Schwartz was a true friend of the Library. At one of his first public meetings on campus, I introduced myself to him and invited him to visit our Library. The first thing he said to me was that he would be delighted to visit because he loved libraries! And over the course of his tenure as President, it was obvious that he was indeed a fan. Despite his busy schedule, he attended many library events over the years, including speaking about the importance of scholarly and creative inquiry as the featured presenter at the October 2001 Scholars and Artists Reception, an annual Friends event.
Dr. Schwartz was an active member of the Friends of the Library long before the Library was named for him in 2009. Not only did he attend several of our book talks including On Bullshit, 2005, a NYT bestseller by Harry G. Frankfurt, he also truly enjoyed engaging in academic discourse through the discussion of intellectual ideas. President Schwartz and Professor William Bowen led a Friends of the Library book talk “What the President and Senior Faculty Really Think About Universities” based on their book titled The Chief Purpose of Universities: Academic Discourse and Diversity of Ideas. In 2010, they were among the first authors to utilize the Library’s open access, e-publishing arm, MSL Academic Endeavors, to publish this book. After Dr. Schwartz retired, he frequently attended Friends of the Michael Schwartz Library meetings and book talks. During this period, we learned that Michael also enjoyed lighter fiction such as David Liss’s, historical novel, The Whiskey Rebels, set in the newly formed United States of 1788-1792.
The Library was honored to be chosen to house his portrait by artist Robert E. Hartshorn in 2009 (shown below), but I was a little concerned about the responsibility and asked him why he chose the Library for its placement. He replied, “I know that the Library will take good care of it.” We placed it near the Library’s entrance where he could watch over the many students and faculty who frequent the Michael Schwartz Library. There he reminds all who enter of the importance of academic discourse and the diversity of ideas—the chief purpose of universities.
Cleveland State University and Kent State University will co-host a Celebration of Life for Dr. Michael Schwartz on Thursday, February 8, at 3 p.m. in the Glasscock Family Foundation Ballroom (third floor of CSU’s Student Center). The public is invited to attend, and doors will open at 2:30 p.m.
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Dr. Michael Schwartz's portrait (above) was presented to him during his Special Tribute at the Allen Theatre in Playhouse Square in June 2009 and is now prominently displayed near the entrance of the Michael Schwartz Library. | |
Programs and Activities
Please join the Friends of the Michael Schwartz Library for the spring 2024 programs and activities including the Virtual Author Series, Local Author Talk, and Bus Excursion. We hope to see you at one or more of these events.
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Rajiv Nagainch
Your Retirement: Dream or Disaster? How to Avoid the Hidden Traps in Retirement Planning Advice,
Tuesday, January 23rd, 2024
2:00 pm
Virtual
Please register here
Start your New Year off right and learn how to avoid the hidden traps in retirement planning advice! Did you know that a large financial portfolio, an estate plan, and long-term care insurance won’t be enough to prevent your dream retirement from becoming a disaster in the United States? Or do you know someone forced into institutional care after a health crisis, lost assets due to unplanned medical and long-term care costs, or became a burden on loved ones? According to Elder Law Attorney and bestselling author Rajiv Nagaich, these results are called “retirement plan failure.” Over his 20-plus years of experience in United States elder law, Rajiv has developed a step-by-step guide to retirement planning by connecting the various dots of the retirement planning process. The Life Planning approach is a system that brings together legal, financial, and housing issues into a coordinated effort that can work to make sure you don’t end up being forced into institutionalized care, going broke, and being a burden on your family. In this enlightening and informative webinar, Rajiv explains why “retirement plan failure” happens and how you can keep it from happening to you.
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Dr. Robert Lustig
Metabolical: The Lure and the Lies of Processed Food, Nutrition, and Modern Medicine
Tuesday, January 30th, 2024
2:00 pm
Virtual
Please register here
Launch your New Year healthy with Dr. Robert Lustig, a pediatric neuroendocrinologist who has long been on the cutting edge of medicine and science. Dr. Lustig’s book, Metabolical: The Lure and the Lies of Processed Food, Nutrition, and Modern Medicine, weaves the interconnected strands of nutrition, health/disease, medicine, environment, and society into a completely new fabric by proving on a scientific basis a series of iconoclastic revelations, among them:
● Medicine for chronic disease treats symptoms, not the disease itself
● You can diagnose your own biochemical profile
● Chronic diseases are not "druggable," but they are "foodable"
● Processed food isn’t just toxic, it’s addictive
● The war between vegan and keto is a false war—the combatants are on the same side
● Big Food, Big Pharma, and Big Government are on the other side
He insists that if we do not fix our food and change the way we eat, we will continue to court chronic disease, bankrupt healthcare, and threaten the planet. But there is hope: his book and this webinar explain what’s needed to fix all three. Dr. Lustig offers a doable plan for us to heal and restore our health and well-being with real food and, in the process, boost our immunity to viruses like Covid-19.
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Tessa Bailey
Fangirl Down
Thursday, February 8th, 2024
8:00 pm
Virtual
Please register here
Join us as the #1 New York Times bestselling author Tessa Bailey talks about the launch of her new super hot sports romance duology with a rom-com about a bad boy professional athlete who falls for his biggest fan in her new book Fangirl Down.
Wells Whitaker was once golf’s hottest rising star, but lately, all he has to show for his “promising” career is a killer hangover, a collection of broken clubs, and one remaining supporter. No matter how bad he plays, the beautiful, sunny redhead is always on the sidelines. He curses, she cheers. He scowls, she smiles. But when Wells quits in a blaze of glory, and his fangirl finally goes home, he knows he made the greatest mistake of his life.
Josephine Doyle believed in the gorgeous, grumpy golfer, even when he didn’t believe in himself. Yet after he throws in the towel, she begins to wonder if her faith was misplaced. Then a determined Wells shows up at her door with a wild proposal: be his new caddy, help him turn his game around, and split the prize money. And considering Josephine’s professional and personal life is in shambles, she could really use the cash…
As they travel together, spending days on the green and nights in neighboring hotel rooms, sparks fly. Before long, they’re inseparable, Wells starts winning again, and Josephine is surprised to find a sweet, thoughtful guy underneath his gruff, growly exterior. But Wells is technically her boss, and an athlete falling for his fangirl would be ridiculous… right? You’ll have to register to find out!
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Jason Mott
Hell of a Book
Thursday, February 20th, 2024
4:00 pm
Virtual
Please register here
You’re invited to join us as we talk to New York Times bestselling author Jason Mott about his recent novel Hell of a Book. This magnificent work of fiction is deeply honest, at times electrically funny, and is a book that goes to the heart of racism, police violence, and the hidden costs exacted upon Black Americans and America as a whole.
In Hell of a Book, a Black author sets out on a cross-country publicity tour to promote his bestselling novel. That storyline drives Hell of a Book and is the scaffolding of something much larger and more urgent: Mott’s novel also tells the story of Soot, a young Black boy living in a rural town in the recent past, and The Kid, a possibly imaginary child who appears to the author on his tour.
As these characters’ stories build and converge, they astonish. While this heartbreaking and magical book entertains and is at once about family, love of parents and children, art and money, it’s also about the nation’s reckoning with a tragic police shooting playing over and over again on the news. And with what it can mean to be Black in America.
Unforgettably told, with an electrifying plot and characters who burn into your mind, Hell of a Book is the novel Mott has been writing in his head for the last ten years. And in its final twists, it truly becomes its title. Register now!
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Friends Bus Excursion
International Women’s Air and Space Museum at Burke Lakefront Airport
Friday, March 15, 2024 (during spring break week)
10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. (end time approximate)
The Friends of the Library is planning a Bus Excursion to the International Women’s Air and Space Museum at Burke Lakefront Airport in March 2024. The trip includes a guided tour of the Museum, shopping at the Gift Shop, and lunch at a nearby restaurant. The Friends will provide the cost of the tour and transportation to and from the Museum, but attendees will be responsible for the cost of lunch at a nearby restaurant. The tour provides an in-person guide through the intricate history of women in air and space. Hear how these women's accomplishments and challenges impacted the world we live in today, and the history being made today.
Register here to attend
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Local Author, John J. Grabowski!
In April 2024, meet author John J. Grabowski and hear about his recent book titled Cleveland Cultural Gardens: A Landscape of Diversity. Honoring and embodying the cultural heritages of a region through the beauty of shared outdoor spaces.
Details coming soon!
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Continuous Book Sale
Visit the Friends of the Library continuous Book Sale. A variety of books are on sale on the 1st floor of the Library near the elevators during regular library hours.
Book Sale Prices
$2 for hardcover
$1.00 for softcover
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Friends of the Library events are free and open to all CSU faculty, staff, and students
and the general public.
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