Lakeland Community College presidents honored with street names at new Vitalia

Oct. 2—A quartet of new streets at the edge of Mentor now have the names of Lakeland Community College presidents as a tribute to the college and its newly forged relationship with Vitalia, a new 55-plus community.

The land on which the community is located once was a part of the college's original 400 acres south of Interstate 90 between Route 306 and Route 615 when it was purchased in 1968 from Margaret Moore. Ground was broken the following year for Lakeland.

Vitalia is visible on the south side of I-90 near the exit ramp to Route 615, or Center Street. Its main building has 150 apartments for independent and assisted living and memory care with buildings behind it containing two- and three-bedroom villas.

Its rear entry leads to the Garfield Road entrance to the college near where the restored Mooreland Mansion is located.

Residents of both apartments and villas have access to common areas that include an indoor pool, exercise room, salon, game room and theater. Transportation and restaurant-style meals also are offered to residents, and those living in villas have a club room for their use.

"Lakeland is the only community college in the country founded by the voters of its county," said Morris W. Beverage Jr., Lakeland's president since 2001.

His name graces the newly dedicated Beverage Boulevard.

The other new streets are Rodehorst Road, Kern Court and Catanzaro Way. Dr. Ralph Doty, who served as president from 1988 to 2001, will be honored with a garden at Vitalia. That's because there is already a Doty Road in Madison Township and Lake County commissioners did not want to duplicate that name.

Lakeland's founding president, Wayne Rodehorst, who served from 1967 to 1981, has returned to live in Mentor, residing at Parker Place. He set the tone for the development of Lakeland and the establishment of its Kirtland campus.

"Dr. Rodehorst's contributions to our college's growth have paved the way for generations of students to pursue their dreams," said Beverage.

During Jim Catanzaro's time as Lakeland's president, between 1981 and 1987, he became known for bringing the Cleveland Browns to Lakeland for the team's training camp. He came from California to serve at Lakeland and since then has served as president at Triton College in the Chicago area and at Chattanooga State Community College in Tennessee.

"I've been president at four community colleges in the last 30 years and can tell you that Lakeland is by far the best," he told those gathered for the street dedication.

Willis P. Kern served as Lakeland's president in 1977.

"The property that's now Vitalia once was owned by Addressograph-Multigraph, which intended in the 1970s to make its world headquarters here," said Rodehorst. "But that company moved from Cleveland to Los Angeles in 1978 and declared bankruptcy a few years later."

Beverage — who intends to retire next year, after more than two decades as Lakeland's president — graduated from Lakeland in 1974 and served as the college's treasurer and chief financial officer for more than 11 years before being named president.

He's helped the college earn many national rankings, and he has introduced new programs to meet the needs of local employers and has kept classrooms and laboratories up to date.

And he's not done yet.

"A $15 million makeover of our engineering building is coming soon," Beverage told the gathering.

Lakeland Community College gets $3 million for building project

Lakeland and Vitalia are partnering to make Vitalia an intergenerational university-based community, said Mario Sinicariello, CEO of Omni Smart Living, the Solon-based parent company of Vitalia.

"Our goal is to enhance the quality of life for residents as they age, and our culture will encourage positive interactions between residents and students," Sinicariello said. "Residents will be able to enroll in courses at Lakeland, use the college's recreational facilities and attend performances at the Dr. Wayne F. Rodehorst Performing Arts Center.

"And students will be able to find good jobs at Vitalia."