Dick Celeste
Richard Frank Celeste (born November 11, 1937) is an American former diplomat, university administrator and politician from Ohio. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 64th governor of Ohio from 1983 to 1991.
Dick Celeste
Early life and career[edit]
Celeste was born in Cleveland, Ohio and grew up in Lakewood, Ohio, the son of Margaret Louis and Frank Palm Celeste. His father was born in Cerisano, Italy.[1][2] He graduated from Lakewood High School in 1955. In 1959, he graduated magna cum laude from Yale University where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Celeste then received a Rhodes Scholarship to attend Exeter College at Oxford University, where he is an Honorary Fellow.[3] There he met Dagmar Ingrid Braun, whom he married in Austria in 1962. After returning to the United States, Celeste served as staff liaison office in the Peace Corps and as special assistant to Chester Bowles.
Celeste was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives from Cuyahoga County in 1970. His Ohio House District included western Cleveland and Lakewood, where his father Frank, had once served as mayor. He was subsequently elected the 55th lieutenant governor of Ohio in 1974 (defeating Republican John W. Brown, serving under the Republican James A. Rhodes—at the time, Ohio's lieutenant governor was elected separately from the governor, so the victors could be of different parties). In 1978, Celeste ran for governor, but lost to incumbent Rhodes. President Carter appointed Celeste Director of the Peace Corps from 1979 to 1981, where he was responsible for programs in 53 countries.
President of Colorado College[edit]
Celeste was inaugurated as the 12th President of Colorado College in 2002.
During his tenure as president, Celeste raised $200 million for such things as capital improvements and scholarships to help disadvantaged and minority students. His other accomplishments included Addition of 20 tenure-track faculty positions, a large increase in the size of the student applicant pool, from 3,533 in 2003 to 4,455 in 2010, and an increase in selectivity, with 55.9 percent of applicants accepted in 2003 to 33.3 percent accepted in 2010.[11]
Celeste oversaw major renovations of campus buildings, including Palmer Hall, Cossitt Hall and Packard Hall; construction of the interdisciplinary Edith Kinney Gaylord Cornerstone Arts Center.[11]
In 2004, a Jewish group called for Celeste's resignation after he invited a high-profile Palestinian to give a lecture.[11]
Celeste was known for bringing the community and the college together. He was the president of the Colorado Springs Downtown Partnership, the Colorado Economics Future Panel, the NCAA Presidential Task Force on the Future of Intercollegiate Athletics, and the Colorado Forum, which tackles public policy issues.[11]
Celeste has since retired as President of Colorado College. He started serving as president in 2002, and was replaced in July 2011 by Jill Tiefenthaler, provost and economics professor at Wake Forest University.[12]
Personal life[edit]
Celeste had six children with his first wife, Dagmar. The couple divorced in 1995.[13] Celeste is currently married to Jacqueline Lundquist. Celeste and Lundquist have one child, Sam. Celeste has 13 grandchildren, including two who were students at Colorado College and one who is a graduate of Case Western Reserve University.[14]
His brother, Theodore S. Celeste, successfully ran as a Democratic Party candidate for the Ohio House in 2006.
In 2022, Celeste's autobiography, In the Heart of it All: An Unvarnished Account of My Life in Public Service (ISBN 9781606354452), was published.
Legacy[edit]
The Celeste Center at the Ohio Expo Center and State Fair in Columbus, Ohio, is named in honor of Celeste. The Richard F. Celeste Laboratory of Chemistry on the Columbus Campus of the Ohio State University is named in honor of the former Governor. In addition, the Richard F. Celeste Theater at the Cornerstone Arts Center of Colorado College is named in honor of his tenure as president.[15]