June 2005
Charleyse Pratt, who joined Baldwin-Wallace College in February as director of B‑W East, has a vision of excellence and community involvement for B-W’s eastern facility in Beachwood.
“I see this as an opportunity to create a center for excellence in education,” she said. “The name of the building – Landmark Centre – says it all: A landmark is a pivotal point or defining moment, and those who come here for our adult programs are establishing new directions in their lives from this pivotal point.”
Pratt envisions a center for provocative thought – “a dynamic facility where things are happening all the time.” The academic cornerstones of B-W East will focus on undergraduate degree completion, executive education, and graduate programs in business and education.
Since Pratt’s arrival, B-W East has hosted its first book club and its first “Community Conversation,” a program designed to achieve what good conversation always does for individuals: provide an opportunity to learn and expand, to “soothe the soul, and to walk away refreshed and renewed,” Pratt said.
The first such event, on April 29, focused on “The Ecclesiastical Entrepreneurship,” providing discussion of places of worship operating entrepreneurial programs such as day care centers and charter schools. Several clergy members who attended have expressed interest in the B-W Business Plan Clinic, where B-W student consultants and volunteer Entrepreneurs-in-Residence coach small business owners and entrepreneurs through development or review of their business plans.
“The Ecclesiastical Entrepreneurship” also drew small-business owners from the community.
B-W East’s book club has a twist: The author is invited. The first book club meeting was scheduled for June 1, featuring Chris Hilicki, an author of “May I Have Your Attention, Please: Build a Better Business by Telling Your True Story.” The book’s topic is creating and defining branding. An open house and reception followed that meeting, and Pratt offered transportation via Lolly the Trolley to and from nearby MBNA and Lamson & Session facilities for their employees who wished to tour B-W East.
The second book club meeting on Thursday, June 30 will feature Joan E. Southgate, author of “In Their Path: A Grandmother’s 519-Mile Underground Railroad Walk.” She walked 519 miles along the Underground Railroad to trace the footsteps of escaping slaves. A shorter walk – in the Lake County Metroparks, at what was once a station on the Underground Railroad – is planned for those attending the half-day session.
B-W East also has formed a partnership with the Cleveland Museum of Art. In September, through that partnership, B-W East will offer classes in art appreciation and art fiction.
Pratt brings more than 25 years of business management and academic experience to her new post. For three years, she headed GLEAMS – the Global Leadership and Excellence in Academics, Mathematics and Science program – at Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management. GLEAMS was a joint program with the East Cleveland and Cleveland Municipal Schools. Earlier, she was assistant director of minority affairs.
Pratt is proud to be a product of the Cleveland Schools; she is a graduate of Glenville High School. She received her undergraduate degree in business administration and economics from Wittenberg University, and a master’s degree and doctorate from Case. Her Ph.D. is in organizational behavior.
Her husband, the Rev. Gregory Pratt, is pastor of Emmanuel Apostolic Church on Cleveland’s west side. The couple lives in Cleveland Heights and has three grown children.
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