Celebrating a 30-Year Career that Shaped Students, Systems, and Standards across CENTERS
With a distinguished career spanning over three decades, Cindi Tscherne has exemplified what it means to lead with purpose, adapt with agility, and drive sustainable progress. As she closes this remarkable chapter, we’re celebrating her lasting contributions to the people, programs, and practices that define CENTERS.
Her most recent role as Senior Associate Director at the Marshall University Recreation Center capped off a legacy defined by operational excellence, student development, and innovative sustainability practices, leaving a lasting mark not only on the campus but across the entire network of CENTERS-managed locations.
Elevating Operations and Student Development at Marshall University
At Marshall, Cindi led with intention, developing high-impact initiatives that strengthened team culture, increased operational efficiency, and empowered student staff to lead with confidence.
Key accomplishments included:
- Leadership of Staff Experience & Training Initiatives: Cindi oversaw the staff experience, engagement, training, and development committee, launching structured programs that enhanced both employee satisfaction and operational alignment.
- Innovative Recognition Programs:
– All-Star Team: Honored 75+ exceptional part-time staff annually.
– Most Valuable Player: Celebrated one standout student each year who best embodied the Rec Center’s mission and values.
- Marshall Rec U Curriculum: A tiered, competency-based learning model that develops students from entry-level hires into leadership roles, such as area supervisors, creating a pipeline of confident, skilled professionals.
- Student-Led Scholarship & Professional Development Fund: Through a partnership with the Student Rec Council, Cindi helped launch and expand a fund that supported certifications, conferences, and learning experiences. This year alone, $1,250 was awarded to two top-performing student employees, funded entirely through student-driven events.
Advancing Sustainability in Aquatics Operations
Sustainability has been a consistent focus throughout Cindi’s CENTERS career. Her leadership shaped multiple campuses’ approach to long-term environmental responsibility:
- Digital Transformation: Cindi introduced paperless operations across sites—implementing digital systems for daily logs, incident tracking, and maintenance records, reducing waste while improving data transparency and efficiency.
- Scalable Risk Management: At Cleveland State University, she developed a comprehensive Risk Management Plan that grew into a system-wide standard for CENTERS, used today as a foundational framework for new facility operations.
- Strategic Vendor Management at Marshall: Operating in a rural market, Cindi forged a key partnership with National Pools of Virginia for major infrastructure upgrades—replacing filters and automating chemical systems—resulting in lower chemical usage, reduced maintenance costs, and streamlined operations.
- Hybrid Maintenance Model: By prioritizing collaboration with the university’s internal Facilities team and using outside vendors only when necessary, she reduced reliance on third-party travel while cutting costs and environmental impact.
A Career Built on Adaptability and Vision
Cindi’s professional journey reflects both depth and versatility. With an undergraduate degree in Recreation and a Master of Education completed at age 46, she reentered the workforce with fresh momentum, moving from teaching to aquatics management at North Olmsted Recreation Center, before joining CENTERS in 2008.
Her willingness to relocate—first to Cleveland State, then the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and eventually to Marshall University—allowed her to grow into CENTERS senior leadership roles while enriching her experience across diverse communities and institutional cultures.
Next Chapter: A Return to Ohio and Continued Impact
Now transitioning back to her home state of Ohio, Cindi originally intended to step into retirement. But her dedication to aquatics and recreation leadership remains strong. She recently accepted a new role supporting the reopening of the rebuilt Gemini Center pool in Fairview Park, OH.
“I thought I was ready to hang up my goggles,” Cindi shared, “but I realized I still have more to give—and I’m excited to continue serving in a space I care deeply about.”
Lasting Impacts
Cindi leaves behind not only sustainable systems and award-winning programs but a set of guiding principles that continue to resonate across CENTERS:
- Plan thoroughly—and then plan again.
- Invest in part-time staff—they’re the foundation.
- Spot and nurture talent—it builds strong teams.
- People-first leadership drives long-term success.
Her impact is visible in the teams she’s led, the systems she’s helped create, and the standards she’s elevated. CENTERS is proud to celebrate Cindi’s career and her continued commitment to excellence in aquatics, sustainability, and leadership development.