Points of Pride at Lake Erie College| Painesville, OH

Founded in 1856, Lake Erie College is located in the town of Painesville, Ohio. A short stroll from campus is Painesville’s lively main street, home to art galleries, boutiques and local restaurants. LEC students enjoy access to beautiful parks, plentiful dining options and specialty stores, all just a stone’s throw away. Whether it’s a visit to Headlands Beach State Park or a trip to the Holden Arboretum, there’s always something to do in Lake County!

General College Facts

• Approximately 30 miles (48 km) east of downtown Cleveland — the second-largest city in the state of Ohio. Home to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, some of the top museums in the country and a thriving food and restaurant scene including the hottest place in the city, East 4th Street.

• Less than five miles away from LEC you’ll find not one but two beaches situated on beautiful Lake Erie. In addition to beaches, LEC is also located near many parks within a network called the Lake Metroparks some of which are also located right on the shores of Lake Erie.

• The Master of Liberal Studies was launched in 2020 and is the first program of its kind in Ohio.

Degrees @ LEC

• We offer degrees in B.A., B.Ss, B.F.A, M.B.A., M.Ed., MPS and MSPAS with 33 majors and 29 minors.

• We currently have four Graduate programs:  Master of Education, Master in Business Administration, Master of Professional Studies, Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies. These flexible programs will prepare students to move ahead in their professions with relevant classes, real-world experiences in advanced technology.

Student Body

• +1,200 Students (UG & Graduate)

• 78% of students live on campus

• 1,200 (undergraduate + graduate)

• 45% female and 55% male

• 7 countries + 27 states represented

• LEC sponsors 19 NCAA Division-II sports in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference. (G-MAC)

• LEC boasts three national caliber intercollegiate equestrian teams: IHSA Hunt Seat, IHSA Western and IDA Dressage Team.

• LEC is a Military Friendly School.

• LEC is a part of the College Credit Plus program in which Ohio high school students can earn college credit while still attending high school.

Student Experiences

• Pathway to Empowerment

  P2E is Lake Erie College’s signature program for a better college experience and well-rounded education to prepare you for your future. Power-Up Scholarship: Based on your participation in events and assignments, you are eligible for scholarship while attending Lake Erie College First-Year Experience: This course introduces the Pathway to Empowerment Initiative for all incoming students and four presentations covering each vision element such as Self Discovery, Strong Personal Attributes, Creative Problem Solving, Balancing Personal & Professional Goals with the Needs of Others. The HU 110 class gives students an opportunity to explore their interests and passions. Throughout the semester, students will research and develop a project of their choosing so they can begin to leave their mark on the LEC community.

• Study Abroad

  Lake Erie College has partnered with CAPA – The Global Education Network to offer Study Abroad opportunities in cities such as London, Sydney, Florence, Dublin, Shanghai and Buenos Aires.

Featured Academic and Enrichment Programs

• Equestrian

  Our Equestrian program ranks among the top in the country. We offer four equine studies majors and minors, including Therapeutic Horsemanship. LEC has 50-60 school horses The beautiful George M. Humphrey Equestrian Center includes traditional classrooms and laboratories for experiential learning, stables, a 70’ x 120’ warm-up arena, a new 80’ x 248’ indoor arena and a 100’ x 250’ indoor arena with seating for 500 spectators. Equestrian majors take part in many extra-curricular opportunities and activities including student-led committees, intercollegiate riding teams and clubs. Outside of the arena, students work on campus and participate in the Pathway to Empowerment, Lake Erie College’s signature program designed to prepare students for personal and professional success after graduation. In 2018, the Lake Erie College School of Equine Studies achieved a 100 percent employment rate within one year of graduation. Lake Erie College is the only four-year college in the nation to offer instruction and certification in equine massage therapy for academic credit. Students in either Equestrian Facility Management, Equestrian Teacher/Trainer (English), Equine Business Administration, and/or Equine Therapeutic Horsemanship may earn a Certificate in Equine Massage Therapy.

• Master in Physician Assistant Studies

  Our mission is to develop motivated, diverse individuals into Physician Assistants who practice patient-centered, evidence-based medicine, while creating an environment of academic excellence, leadership, and collaboration that is dedicated to serving the healthcare needs of the community. Graduates practice in multiple specialties in Northeast Ohio and throughout the nation, including family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, emergency medicine, urgent care, trauma, orthopedics, general surgery, cardiothoracic surgery, hospital medicine, cardiology, gastroenterology, psychiatry, and many more. 100% first-time PANCE pass rate for the Class of 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 (100/100 students). 100% employment rate for the Class of 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 (100/100 students). 98.4% graduation rate since 2014, which is above the national average of 94.8% (2018 PAEA Program Report 32). 10-year ARC-PA accreditation-continued status, which is the maximum offered. 2015-2018 Quarter Finalists for the national American Academy of Physician Assistants Challenge Bowl. 2016 Champion for the Ohio regional Cleveland Clinic Challenge Bowl. 2015 Winner of the Examsoft Higher Achievement Award, a nationally recognized examination system.

Athletics

• Division II – Great Midwest Athletic Conference

• 19 NCAA D-II athletic teams

• 3 intercollegiate equestrian teams

• Mascot: Stormy the Cyclone

• The Lake Erie College Storm had 64 Division II ADA Academic Achievement Award Honorees in 2019.

• The Storm had 151 Great Midwest Athletic Association (G-MAC) All-Academic Team selections in 2019.

• LEC’s Gabe Kynard named Conference Player of the Year in Men’s Basketball, CoSIDA

• Academic All-American First Team, Conference Scholar Athlete of the Year and the NABC All-District.

• The Storm Men's Soccer was the 2019 Great Midwest Regular Season Champions, finished as Nationally Ranked #16 and were ranked as high as # 4, had two United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-Americans in 2019.

• The Storm’s Wrestling team were Great Midwest Conference Champions Four of Six years, most recently 2018 G-MAC champions, and had 10 NWCA Scholar All-Americans in 2019.

• The Storm’s Women's Soccer has had four Academic All-Ohio Selections.

• The Storm’s Women's Track and Field had one USTFCCCA Academic All-American in 2019.

Partnerships

Lake Erie College is proud to say that we have partnerships and accelerated programs with several local colleges and universities so that our students have the best educational experience. Receive a Doctorate in Pharmacy, Doctorate in Osteopathic Medicine, Doctorate in Pharmacy (LECOM), Doctorate in Dental Medicine, or Bachelor's of Science in Nursing Cleveland-Marshall College of Law

HVACR Technology Certification

• Our 11-month evening program is designed for the working professional and provides unparalleled training and preparation for the National Coalition of Certification Center (NC3) certification exam.

• LEC is proud of our partnership with area high schools, supporting work-force development and technical training.

Alumni

• Deborah Goodrich Royce

  Deborah is an American former actress, story editor, and author. She is best known for her screen roles in Just One of the Guys (1985) and the horror films April Fool's Day (1986) and Remote Control (1988). Goodrich published her debut novel, Finding Mrs. Ford, through the Post Hill Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, in 2019.

• Anthony Kukwa

  Anthony is an American football long snapper who is a free agent. He initially attended Ball State University and later transferred to Lake Erie College, where he played long snapper and tight end. Kukwa is Lake Erie's first ever student-athlete to sign an NFL contract.

• Ryan Rua

  Ryan is an American former professional baseball outfielder and first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers (2011). He was the first player in school history to be drafted into the MLB. Rua has been a free agent since 2018.

• Migdalia Cruz

  Migdalia is a writer of plays, musical theatre and opera in the U.S. and has been translated into Spanish, French, Arabic, Greek, and Turkish.

• Anthony Kovak

  Anthony is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays for Forge FC as a forward. He attended LEC in 2012, where he would play four seasons of NCAA Division II soccer. From 2012 to 2014, he played for the Toronto Lynx in the USL Premier Development League. He appeared in one match in 2012, eight in 2013, and scored one goal in twelve matches in 2014.

• Joseph Dolce

  Joe is an American-Australian singer/songwriter, poet and essayist who achieved international recognition with his multi-million-selling song, "Shaddap You Face", released under the name of his one-man show, Joe Dolce Music Theatre, worldwide, in 1980–1981. The single reached number one in 15 countries, it has sold more than 450,000 copies in Australia, and for many years was the most successful Australian-produced single, selling an estimated six million copies worldwide. It reached No. 1 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart for eight weeks from November 1980.

• Caroline Ransom Williams

  Caroline was an Egyptologist and classical archaeologist. She was the first American woman to be professionally trained as an Egyptologist. She worked extensively with the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MMA) in New York and other major institutions with Egyptian collections, and published Studies in ancient furniture (1905), The Tomb of Perneb (1916), and The Decoration of the Tomb of Perneb: The Technique and the Color Conventions (1932), among others. Ransom attended Lake Erie College and Mount Holyoke College, where she earned a B.A. in 1896, graduating Phi Beta Kappa.

• Valerie Curtin

  Valerie is an American actress and screenwriter. Curtin began her writing career in the 1970s working on episodes of the television sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Curtin and her then-husband Barry Levinson were nominated for an Academy Award (in the category of Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen) for ...And Justice for All (1979) starring Al Pacino. They also co-wrote the semi-autobiographical Best Friends (1982), which starred Burt Reynolds and Goldie Hawn. Her movie appearances include Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974), All the President's Men, Silver Streak, and Silent Movie (all 1976), Why Would I Lie? (1980), Maxie (1985) and John Cassavetes' final film, the 1986 comedy Big Trouble, plus a small, uncredited role in Best Friends. Curtin has also guest-starred in shows such as Frasier, Party of Five, Becker, The District, Just Shoot Me, and ER.

• Frances Jennings Casement (1840–1928)

  Frances was an American suffragette and voting advocate from Painesville, Ohio. Frances and her husband moved to Wyoming where she became friends with suffragettes Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. In 1870 they returned to Painesville, where Frances continued her campaign for women's rights. In 1883, she organized the Equal Rights Association in Painesville and in 1885 helped found Ohio Women's Suffrage Association, serving as president from 1885 to 1889.[5] The Casement House in Painesville Township was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. Casement was inducted into the Ohio Women's Hall of Fame in 2001.

• Dawn Powell (Nov. 28, 1896 – Nov. 14, 1965)

  Dawn was an award-winning novelist, playwright, screenwriter and short story writer. She has won 3 awards including National Book Award nominee (1936), the Marjorie Peabody Waite Award for lifetime achievement in literature by the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1964) and a member of the New York State Writers Hall of Fame (2015). Dawn Powell wrote hundreds of short stories, ten plays, a dozen novels, and an extended diary starting in 1931. Her writings, however, never generated enough money to live off so she supported herself with various jobs, including being a freelance writer, an extra in silent films, a Hollywood screenwriter, a book reviewer, and a radio personality. Powell is referenced in several TV series and novels including the Gilmore Girls episode "Help Wanted", in which Rory expresses sadness over her relative obscurity.

• Emma Millinda Gillett (1852–1927)

  Emma was an American lawyer and women's rights activist who played a pivotal role in the advancement of legal studies for women. She graduated from Lake Erie College in 1872. After being denied from local law schools because of her gender, she was admitted by Howard University, a historically black college and university. Yet, the Washington College of Law, which she founded in 1898, did not accept people of color until 1950. Gillett held many additional roles, including Vice President for the District of Columbia of the American Bar Association in 1922; President of the State Suffrage Association of the District; President of the Women's Bar Association in 1921, and at the time of her death was Dean Emeritus of the Washington College of Law and Chairman of the Legal Branch of the National Woman's Party.