Rate My Professor Steven Cleveland

Steven Cleveland is an Ethnic Studies Entitled Lecturer and History Lecturer at California State University, East Bay, where he also serves as DEI Student Center African American Fellow. As a first-generation college student, he co-created the Black Excellence Project with Sarah Aubert, Academic Programs & Services Analyst, in partnership with the Institutional Effectiveness and Research department. This pilot program at Cal State East Bay amplifies Black alumni success stories via social media to affirm graduates, identify campus best practices supporting student success, and build sustainable community networks. Cleveland participated in the CSU’s Student Success Analytics Certificate Program and emphasizes centering Black voices without deficit-focused narratives, noting that Black freshmen graduation rates are less than 10% within four years. The project has cultivated an active Instagram following, featured 30 Black graduate stories, and earned invitations to conferences including NCORE and WASC ARC to share implementation strategies, with plans for expansion to other CSU campuses.