{"id":159923,"date":"2026-04-07T23:07:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T23:07:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/159923\/"},"modified":"2026-04-07T23:07:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T23:07:09","slug":"lake-erie-college-dedicates-school-of-education-to-suzanne-schoedinger-ellis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/159923\/","title":{"rendered":"Lake Erie College dedicates School of Education to Suzanne Schoedinger Ellis"},"content":{"rendered":"

Suzanne Schoedinger Ellis has been tied to Lake Erie College\u2019s education program for seven decades as a student, alumna and supporter, and now the college\u2019s School of Education bears her name.<\/p>\n

The Painesville college renamed the school the Suzanne (Schoedinger) Ellis \u201859, \u201887 School of Education at an April 7 event. College officials, students and other community members gathered in the college\u2019s Garfield Building, where Ellis worked during her educational career.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday is truly a special moment for Lake Erie College and for our school of education,\u201d said school dean Greg Rothwell. \u201cMoments like this invite us to pause, not just to celebrate but to recognize a legacy that will shape the future of this institution for generations.\u201d<\/p>\n

A college news release called Ellis \u201ca dedicated alumna, teacher, board of director member and supporter of Lake Erie College whose philanthropy has helped strengthen opportunities for students and academic programs across campus.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rothwell described Ellis as a \u201cchampion\u201d for the school who has served on advisory committees, donated to the school and maintained an interest in its activities.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause of Sue, and because of this legacy, we will continue to prepare the next generation of educators to be that champion for our students for years and generations to come,\u201d Rothwell said.<\/p>\n

Lake Erie College President Jennifer Schuller said that Ellis has been tied to the college for decades, \u201cnot just as an alumna, but as a volunteer, an advocate, a mentor and a friend.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are many ways to support a college,\u201d Schuller said. \u201cSue has done all of them and more. She has given her time generously, she has lent her voice thoughtfully, she has shown up again and again for students, for faculty and for this community. But perhaps most importantly, she has done all of this with a kindness and humility that define who she is.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said renaming the school was \u201ca recognition of a legacy, a legacy of compassion, of generosity, of unwavering belief in the power of education to change lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Patricia Nocero serves on the Lake Erie College board with Ellis. She said that Ellis has been \u201csteadfast.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Lake<\/p>\n

Lake Erie College alumna and board of directors member Suzanne Schoedinger Ellis, left, receives a signed picture from the college’s school of education students on April 7. The college named the school of education after Ellis at that event. (Bryson Durst — The News-Herald)<\/p>\n

\"Lake<\/p>\n

Lake Erie College president Jennifer Schuller, left, college alumna and board of directors member Suzanne Schoedinger Ellis and school of education dean Greg Rothwell are pictured on April 7, after the college held an event naming its school of education after Ellis. (Bryson Durst — The News-Herald)<\/p>\n

\"Lake<\/p>\n

Lake Erie College alumna and board member Suzanne Schoedinger Ellis speaks at Lake Erie College on April 7, during an event when the college named its school of education after her. (Bryson Durst — The News-Herald)<\/p>\n

\"Lake<\/p>\n

Lake Erie College President Jennifer Schuller speaks at an April 7 event honoring college alumna and board of directors member Suzanne Schoedinger Ellis. The college named its school of education after Ellis. (Bryson Durst — The News-Herald)<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

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Lake Erie College alumna and board of directors member Suzanne Schoedinger Ellis, left, receives a signed picture from the college’s school of education students on April 7. The college named the school of education after Ellis at that event. (Bryson Durst — The News-Herald)<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just been your generosity,\u201d Nocero said. \u201cIt\u2019s been your time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ellis said that she started at Lake Erie as a student in 1956 and has been there ever since. She said that it is personally significant that the school is housed in the Garfield Building. She taught kindergarten and second grade in the school that was once housed in that building, and her son started his education there.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a great school, and I have confidence in the future of it and the future of education,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

More recently, Ellis has served on the college\u2019s board of directors and alumni board.<\/p>\n

She said she accepted the honor of the school\u2019s new name with \u201cdeep gratitude.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis school has molded the person I am and has influenced my life,\u201d Ellis said. \u201cThe least I can do is to give back to the school that has done that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rothwell said that he could not think of a better choice for the school\u2019s name.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you were to ask me who we should name the school of education after, it definitely would be Sue, without a doubt, because she\u2019s been the most active, long-term supporter of our school of education,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

While Ellis\u2019 name will go on the school, she feels that she is a representative of all of those who have supported it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I do is a small, small amount compared to many,\u201d she said. \u201cI feel like I\u2019m a representative to all the supporters of the school, it\u2019s just that I\u2019m getting the recognition, but many deserve it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Suzanne Schoedinger Ellis has been tied to Lake Erie College\u2019s education program for seven decades as a student,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":159924,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[72292,72293,72291,136,138,137,52060,6608,72294,113,6984],"class_list":["post-159923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-erie","tag-alumna-and-supporter","tag-dean-greg-rothwel","tag-dedicates-school-of-education-to-suzanne-schoedinger-ellis","tag-erie","tag-erie-headlines","tag-erie-news","tag-garfield-building","tag-lake-erie-college","tag-lake-erie-college-president-jennifer-schuller","tag-legacy","tag-student"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159923","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=159923"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159923\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/159924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=159923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=159923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=159923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}