Dr. Julian Earls

More than an Executive in Residence - A Champion for Cleveland State University

As Executive in Residence from 2006 to 2019, Dr. Julian Earls was often seen in the Monte Ahuja College of Business and across campus at Cleveland State University. His biography for Executive in Residence located here does not fully describe his involvement with CSU and with the community. Dr. Earls also served as the interim Vice President of Civic Engagement for Cleveland State University and special advisor to two CSU presidents.

On September 14th 2016, Dr. Earls was named to the NASA Glenn Research Center's Hall of Fame. The induction was the hall's second. The first nine members were inducted in 2015 in honor of the 100th anniversary of what has become NASA. 2016 marks the 75th anniversary of what has become NASA Glenn, based in Brook Park, Ohio.

A frequent guest speaker at Cleveland State University and other colleges and universities, in August of 2016, Dr. Earls was the featured speaker at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore's 2016 Founders' Day convocation and summer commencement exercises.

Dr. Earls is the founder of the Development Fund for Black Students in science, technology, engineering and math fields. The fund provides college scholarships to students who attend historically black institutions.

Since 2015, Dr. Earls organized an annual event on campus to bring over 300 high school students to campus to explore STEM careers, hear from Cleveland State University faculty, engage with current CSU students and complete activities related to STEM careers and innovation.

In recognition of his humanitarianism, the Dr. Julian M. Earls Community Service Award is presented annually by the City of Beachwood, Ohio Diversity Council and the Dr. Julian M. Earls College Scholarship is awarded annually by the National Technical Association and the Ohio Aerospace Institute. 

The former director of NASA Glenn Research Center, Dr. Earls managed an annual budget of approximately $773 million and oversaw a workforce of 1,920 civil service employees and 1,300 on-site support service contractors. While at NASA, he wrote for technical and educational journals and authored the first health physics guides used at NASA. On two occasions, he was awarded NASA medals for exceptional achievement and outstanding leadership and he has also received the Presidential Rank Award of Meritorious Executive.

Dr. Earls served as Grand Marshal for Fall 2015 Homecoming, providing opening remarks at the Grand Marshall Luncheon and leading the parade from Krenzler Field east bound on Chestnut, ending on the front lawn of Mather Mansion for the VikeFest Celebration.

Dr. Earls was also featured on the CSU Engaged Blog, in the Fall of 2014 as the Chair of the 50th Anniversary Homecoming at Cleveland State University. Dr. Earls discussed Cleveland State University's 50th Anniversary and the Cleveland Metropolitan School District Partnership and was the subject of a front-page profile in Cleveland's Call & Post newspaper.

Dr. Earls received an honorary doctorate of science from CSU at Spring 2015 Commencement.

"It was a humbling and unexpected honor," he told The Call & Post. "All I've been trying to do here is to be of service to the students and to the community."

Read The Call & Post 2015 article here.

An avid runner Dr. Earls has completed over 25 marathons, including the Boston Marathon. Dr. Earls was honored to be selected a Torchbearer for the Salt Lake 2002 Winter Olympic Games. He carried the Olympic Flame for a segment of the Olympic Torch Run through Cleveland, Ohio, on January 1, 2002.

Dr. Earls was also a 1986 inductee into the National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame's inaugural class along with the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.

Dr. Earls earned his bachelor's degree in physics from Norfolk State University, his master's degree in radiation biology from the University of Rochester, School of Medicine and Dentistry, and his doctorate degree in radiation physics from the University of Michigan. In addition, he was awarded the Honorary Doctor of Science Degree by the College of Aeronautics in New York, the Honorary Doctor of Pedagogy Degree from Nova Southeastern University in Florida, and the Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from North Carolina A&T State University. Also, Dr. Earls is a graduate of the Harvard Business School Program for Management Development.

Dr. Julian M. Earls: Executive in Residence Biography

Dr. Julian M. Earls is the retired Director of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field in Cleveland, Ohio where he served from October 2003 until December 2005. Previously, he served as Glenn's Deputy Director. As Director, Dr. Earls was responsible for planning, organizing and directing the activities required to accomplish the missions assigned to the Center. Dr. Earls joined the Monte Ahuja College of Business as Executive in Residence in 2006.

Dr. Earls earned his bachelor's degree in physics from Norfolk State University, his master's degree in radiation biology from the University of Rochester, School of Medicine and Dentistry, and his doctorate degree in radiation physics from the University of Michigan. He is also a graduate of the Harvard Business School Program for Management Development.

Since beginning his career with NASA in 1965 at the Lewis Research Center, renamed to the Glenn Research Center in 1999, Dr. Earls has written 28 publications for technical and educational journals. He wrote the first health physics guides used at NASA. He has been a Distinguished Honors Visiting Professor at numerous universities throughout the Nation. On two occasions, he has been awarded NASA medals for exceptional achievement and outstanding leadership, and has received the Presidential Rank Award of Meritorious Executive.