In Memoriam: Georgia Lesh-Laurie, 1938-2019

Georgia Lesh-Laurie,a former administrator and faculty member at Cleveland State University in Ohio, passed away on May 9, 2019. She was 80 years old.

During long tenure at Cleveland State University, Dr. Lesh-Laurie served in various roles including chair of the biology department, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, dean of the College of Graduate Studies, and interim provost. She later went on to serve as chancellor of the University of Colorado Denver and as chief academic officer at the United Arab Emirates University. Earlier in her career she served as the dean of women at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

Following her retirement, she returned to the Cleveland area and became a strong supporter of the arts and sciences programs at Cleveland State. She establish the Josephine E. Lesh and Bessie H. Laurie Endowed Scholarship Fund, in honor of her mother and mother-in-law. The fund supports high-performing students in the College of Science and Health Professions who show professional promise in the sciences.

Dr. Lesh-Laurie was a graduate of Marietta College in Ohio. She held a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin and a Ph.D. from Case Western Reserve University.