Summer 2009

Clean. Safe. Attractive. Included: Interviews with University Circle Police Department Chief John Pavelich and the new University Circle Ambassadors; a new UCI member and the expansion of UCI’s career-readiness education program, Future Connections

Celebrating 50 Years with the UCPD

fullCircle: How did the UCPD start?

Chief John Pavelich: The UCPD was founded on March 15, 1959. The story I heard over the years was that crime in the area had gotten so bad that some of the institutions were thinking of moving out. UCI had a study done that recommended a private police department to patrol the University Circle area. It more than likely would not have gotten off the ground if not for UCI. Our very first station was located in a garage behind one of the fraternity houses on Magnolia Drive, so you can imagine what that was like. We moved to a couple of other locations before finally settling in our current building in the early 1980s.

fC: How long have you been with the UCPD?

JP: I started in 1968, not long after I got out of the Army. My best friend Lt. Louis Adoryan was an officer in University Circle, and he was the one who convinced me to apply for a position. It was close to home for me. I lived off of Buckeye Road, which is a short distance southwest of the Circle.

fC: How has the area changed and evolved since you started?

JP: For one thing, the area has grown. When I started, there were maybe 20 institutions as opposed to the 40 we have today. We’ve seen some pretty major events as a police department. The Hough Riots took place right before I started. The UCPD was also involved in a major shootout in Glenville in 1968, during which four armed militants and three police officers were killed. The National Guard was brought in to restore order.

When the mafia was more active in Cleveland, someone shot at John Nardi (a well-known Mafioso in the ’60s and ’70s who was later killed by a car bomb) from the bridge on Mayfield toward Little Italy. During demonstrations against Vietnam, students blockaded Euclid Avenue. When they refused orders to move off of the street, we had to help break them up.

Most recently, the UCPD helped bring down the shooter in the Peter B. Lewis building on Case Western Reserve University’s (CWRU) campus. But even as the area has grown, crime on the whole has gone down because of the UCPD.

fC: What service does the UCPD provide?

JP: We help make the Circle safe, without making headlines. We are on duty 24-hours per day, 7 days per week. We stay highly visible by having our officers patrol the neighborhood. We also provide security escorts when needed, special event support, traffic control, and accident investigation. Upon request, we also go to the institutions to give crime prevention presentations. We work closely with CRWU’s and University Hospitals’ police departments as well.

fC: How are University Circle and the UCPD different from other neighborhoods and police departments?

JP: Statistically University Circle is one of the safest parts of the city. I cannot tell you how many studies have been done over the years, usually when budgets were the issue, to see if we were worth the cost. The UCPD is very customer-oriented. Community policing is a relatively new concept to much of the area, but it has been the purpose of the UCPD since day one. Our officers really go above and beyond. Community policing is never saying, “That’s not my job.”

fC: What are some of your goals for the department?

JP: If we were able to hire a few more people, I would like to create an investigator position within the department and have officers patrolling in street clothes as well as in uniform. Also, we are working with UCI and the institutions to expand the service area of the UCPD. Something I feel we’re doing well that I want to continue to do is stay highy visible, and to be proactive instead of reactive.

fC: What are some of your favorite things about working in University Circle for the UCPD?

JP: Every day as a police officer is different. I have always loved University Circle and I think of the UCPD as a family. Plus, I met my wife back when she was working on her master’s degree at CWRU!

A Well Maintained, Attractive Front Door

As UCI launches its destination marketing campaign and invites you to “Find Yourself in the Circle,” it is focused on what visitors experience when they arrive. You may have recently noticed two gentlemen in red vests carrying brooms, buckets, and bags along with visitor guides and maps. Meet the University Circle Ambassadors, a growing team assembled by UCI to keep University Circle a safe, clean, and attractive place.

Derrick and Scott are responsible for light street maintenance and hospitality services, and can be found most days (including weekends) on their route up and down the revamped Euclid Avenue and other key areas of the district, like Wade Oval. Laura Kleinman, director of shared services at UCI, said the goal of the ambassador program is “to create a well maintained and attractive front door to University Circle that benefits institutions and businesses and acts as a main entry point for visitors from nearby neighborhoods to communities throughout the region and beyond.”

People have noticed. Museum staff acknowledged the added presence and cordiality of Derrick and Scott. Disoriented visitors expressed the convenience of immediate and accessible directions. And a neighborhood resident, who is also a local real estate developer, was pleased to see the two ambassadors on Euclid at East 118th Street near his home. The ambassadors have begun a special project pressure-washing sidewalks and cleaning off graffiti under the murky bridge that has marked the east end of the district.

Now more than ever, you really can find yourself in the Circle with the help of University Circle’s official visitor representatives and maintenance crew. They have already proved a needed addition to the community with extra security, as their quick response to a recent car accident has shown. Both Scott and Derrick said they love being outside, which makes their job a perfect fit. As a former concierge at the Glidden House, Derrick is especially knowledgeable about University Circle and he’s excited to talk it up:  “For me, it’s all about the interaction with the public.” Look for the duo on Euclid Avenue or at one of the WOW! Wade Oval Wednesdays concerts this summer, and don’t be shy to ask them a question or two. They’re ready to help.

Dying with Dignity

Modern medicine has undeniably improved individuals’ quality of life, allowing them to live healthier and longer.  It has also worked miracles in the face of diseases, such as cancer, heart disease, and even AIDS.  But what happens when the science behind the medicine is not enough to save someone’s life?  For these times, a different form of treatment is needed—one that prepares an individual and their loved ones physically, spiritually, and emotionally for the realities of death. For more than thirty years, Hospice of the Western Reserve has been providing compassionate care and guidance for people facing the end of their life’s journey.

Serving a 5-county area and more than 1,300 patients and families per day, Hospice of the Western Reserve provides palliative end-of-life care.  Palliative care involves pain management, symptom control, and emotional and spiritual support.  “When a serious illness or health problem arises, there is a swirling of anxiety and turmoil,” said David Simpson, chief executive officer of Hospice of the Western Reserve. “We consider hospice to be emergency medicine.  Our sole focus is the provision of comfort for all people connected to a particular patient.”

Hospice of the Western Reserve provides many valuable services to the community, including grief counseling and programs dedicated to dementia, cardiopulmonary disease, renal disease, AIDS, and pediatric hospice care.  Their newest program, Peaceful & Proud, serves the unique needs of veterans facing the end of life.  “The dying phase of life is a developmental phase,” said Simpson.  “It has predictable characteristics, one of which is the need for closure.”  Hospice of the Western Reserve encourages music and art therapy, and the development of ethical wills.  Ethical wills are an expression of values that reflect the lessons people learned throughout their lives.

UCI is excited to have Hospice of the Western Reserve as one of its newest partner organizations because of its mission and close ties with other University Circle institutions. What makes Hospice of the Western Reserve unique from other hospice care providers in the area is its singular dedication to Cleveland and its commitment to affordable care.  As a local nonprofit, independent organization, Hospice of the Western Reserve reinvests what it earns back into the community.  Last year, they provided more than $2 million in charity care, and an additional $3 million in uncompensated care. Hospice of the Western Reserve has close ties with area hospitals, including University Hospitals, The Cleveland Clinic, and the VA Hospital.

“We are a part of this community,” said Simpson.  “We are working to raise awareness that dying well is a facet of living.”

Expanding Program, Expanding Minds

Now in its 12th year, UCI’s career readiness and internship program, Future Connections, has grown and matured in many ways like its participating students. As part of UCI’s Life Long Learning campaign, Future Connections links traditional education to real life work experience. And this year is the first time these connections will extend beyond Cleveland’s borders to the city’s inner-ring communities.

The program, which gives rising high school seniors the opportunity to apply and interview for internships with a number of the region’s biggest employers, has had a long history of exclusive collaboration with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD). But this summer, Future Connections will add students from Maple Heights and East Cleveland.

Describing the new direction, Future Connections Program Manager Charolette Harris said, “It’s important to diversify the schools and businesses because many of the students bring people to the Circle and expose them to these previously unknown opportunities.” She continued, “As we’ve interviewed students from inner-ring suburbs, we’ve found that a lot of them had never been to The Cleveland Museum of Art, or the Museum of Natural History, or the Botanical Garden.”

And for many past students, Future Connections has been instrumental for this exposure. Michael Robinson, a 2008 graduate of the program, is an outgoing, charismatic young man whose close relationship with Stanley Miller, executive director of the Cleveland chapter of the NAACP, helped secure the mentor as a guest speaker for Michael’s commencement ceremony at Jane Adams High School this past June.

As an intern with the NAACP and the Cleveland Fire Department, Michael learned everything from time management and organization, to fire safety and prevention, to the socio-economic realities of the underprivileged. Applying his knowledge from the NAACP to his daily life, Michael helped reverse the unlawful firing of his sister at a neighborhood McDonald’s by bringing her story to the attention of NAACP civil rights advocates. This fall, Michael will enter the Cleveland Fire Department Academy, while continuing his formal education at Cuyahoga Community College. When asked what qualities or skills have enabled him to get where he is now, Michael tends to credit everyone but himself. He did finally concede, “I guess I’m just good at working with people.”

With the wider reach that Future Connections’ expansion will bring, more students throughout the region will also have a chance, like Michael, to begin a lifetime of learning in University Circle.