Mission | Vision | Accreditation | Philosophy Statement | Cleveland | University Circle | Archives
The University
Case Western Reserve University is one of the nation’s leading independent research universities, with programs that encompass the arts and sciences, engineering, the health sciences, law, management, and social work.
Brief History
Although its origins date to 1826, the university in its present form is the result of the 1967 federation of Case Institute of Technology and Western Reserve University. The two institutions had shared adjacent campuses since the late nineteenth century and were involved in cooperative efforts for many years. Western Reserve College was founded in 1826 in Hudson, Ohio, a town 26 miles southeast of Cleveland. The college took its name from that of the region, which at the time of the American Revolution, was known as the Western Reserve of Connecticut. In 1882, renamed Western Reserve University and boasting a medical school in addition to its undergraduate programs, the institution moved to the Cleveland site that later became known as University Circle. There it joined the Case School of Applied Science, founded in 1880 through the bequest of Leonard Case Jr., a leading benefactor and Cleveland civic leader. The name Case Institute of Technology was adopted in 1947 to reflect the institution’s growing stature in the sciences and engineering.
University Mission
Case Western Reserve University improves people’s lives through preeminent research, education and creative endeavor.
We realize this goal through:
- Scholarship that capitalizes on the power of collaboration.
- Learning that is active, creative and continuous.
- Promotion of an inclusive culture of global citizenship.
University Vision
We aspire to be recognized internationally as an institution that imagines and influences the future.
Toward that end, we will:
- Support advancement of select academic fields as well as new areas of interdisciplinary excellence.
- Provide students with the knowledge, skills and experiences necessary to become leaders in a world of rapid change and increasing interdependence.
- Nurture a community of scholars who are cooperative, collegial and committed to mentoring and inclusion.
- Build on our relationships with world-class health care, cultural, educational, and scientific institutions in University Circle and across greater Cleveland.
Accreditation
Case Western Reserve University is accredited at the institutional level by the Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North Central Association. In addition, many of Case's individual programs are accredited by nationally recognized professional associations, including:
- AACSB International - Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (accountancy and business)
- Computing Accreditation Commission of ABET, www.abet.org , (BS degree program in computer science)
- Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, www.abet.org , (all BS degree programs in engineering, not including the engineering undesignated degree program)
- Accreditation Council for Cooperative Education (cooperative education programs)
- American Bar Association (law)
- American Board of Genetic Counseling (genetic counseling)
- American Chemical Society (chemistry)
- American College of Nurse-Midwives (nurse midwifery)
- American Dental Association (dentistry)
- American Medical Association and Association of American Medical Colleges, Liaison Committee on Medical Education (medicine)
- American Psychological Association (clinical psychology)
- American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (speech pathology)
- Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education, American Dietetic Association (didactic program in dietetics, dietetic internship)
- Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (anesthesiologist assistant)
- Commision on Collegiate Nursing Education (Doctor of Nursing Practice program)
- Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs
- Council on Education for Public Health (public health)
- Council on Social Work Education (applied social sciences)
- National Association of Schools of Music (music)
- National League for Nursing (nursing)
- Ohio Department of Education, Division of Teacher Education and Licensure (art education and music education)
- Teacher Education Accreditation Council (art education and music education)
The university is chartered as an educational institution under the laws of the State of Ohio and holds a Certificate of Authorization from the Ohio Board of Regents .
For further information, contact the university’s Center for Institutional Research .
Philosophy Statement on Educational Outcome Assessment
Case Western Reserve University commits to a comprehensive educational outcome assessment program, wherein we measure how our students have changed, what knowledge has been learned, and what competencies have been developed. Our educational outcome assessment programs will not only provide information on how well we are achieving our objectives, but also identify what types of programs and experiences have the most powerful impacts. The ultimate goal is to incorporate continuous evaluation into the educational culture for the improvement of programs and for enhancing the distinctiveness of our university.
Education outcome assessments will be based on the core vision and mission of each school and the university as a whole. The faculty, empowered by adequate resources and support to carry out assessment activities, accepts that educational outcome assessment is a part of academic duties. Outcome assessment is embraced as a means that can lead to improvements in teaching and learning, plus provide evidence of teaching effectiveness for institutional purposes.
Cleveland
From a settlement that began centuries ago on the banks of the Cuyahoga River, Cleveland has grown into a metropolis of close to 3 million people. The heritage of this Great Lakes port includes industrial achievement as well as cultural and scientific advances. The Cleveland area is headquarters for many of the nation’s major corporations. The city is also a major banking center; the Fourth District Federal Reserve Bank, one of 12 in the nation, is located here.
Health care is another thriving Cleveland industry. Dozens of hospitals and medical centers are concentrated in the area. University Hospitals, the Cleveland Clinic, the MetroHealth Medical Center, and others have attained international recognition for outstanding patient care and contributions to medical research.
Greater Cleveland is dotted with shopping malls, theaters, and opportunities for sports and amusement. The latter include Lake Erie, the 17,000-acre Metropark system; professional baseball, football, and basketball teams; and facilities for softball, skiing, hiking, cycling, picnics, and other activities. More than 60 ethnic groups live in Cleveland; seasonal festivals continue traditions brought to the region from throughout the world.
University Circle
Case Western Reserve University is located in University Circle , a 550-acre concentration of more than 40 cultural, medical, educational, religious, and social service institutions located at the eastern edge of the city. In addition to Case Western Reserve University, which is the largest institution in University Circle, the community includes Severance Hall, home of the world-famous Cleveland Orchestra; the Cleveland Museum of Art, housing one of the nation’s finest collections; the Cleveland Institute of Music; the Cleveland Institute of Art; University Hospitals; the Western Reserve Historical Society; the Cleveland Botanical Garden; the Cleveland Museum of Natural History; and many others. All are within walking distance of the university.
University Circle attracts visitors worldwide and from throughout the region to its concerts, theater performances, athletic events, art shows, public lectures, exhibits, and restaurants. Housing, shopping, and recreational facilities are all located in the area.
University Archives
University Archives manages university records and publications to ensure the preservation of a reliable institutional memory. The office, which manages a collection of over 12,000 linear feet (approximately 25 million pages) and over 40 gigabytes that document the university’s life from 1826 to 2009, offers the following services:
- Research and reference services to help discover the who, what, where, when, how and why of Case Western Reserve University history and development
- Duplication services (digital, xerographic, and fax copies) of most documents
- Records services to assist in managing active records and guidance in transferring records to the University Archives
- Digitization of select, high-demand materials for ease of access and use
Administration
Barbara R. Snyder
President
William A. "Bud" Baeslack III
Provost and Executive Vice President
Christine Ash
Vice President for University Planning
Rick Bischoff
Vice President for Enrollment
Robert Clarke Brown
Treasurer
Stephen M. Campbell
Vice President for Campus Planning and Facilities Management
Donald L. Feke
Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education
David Fleshler
Associate Provost for International Affairs
Carolyn Gregory
Vice President for Human Resources
Mark Henderson
Interim Vice President for Information Technology Services and Chief Information Officer
Richard Jamieson
Vice President for Campus Services
Lara Kalafatis
Vice President for University Relations
Elizabeth Keefer
General Counsel
Bruce Loessin
Senior Vice President for University Relations and Development
Ermin R. Melle
Vice President for Financial Planning
Marilyn Sanders Mobley
Vice President for Inclusion, Diversity, and Equal Opportunity
John Sideras
Senior Vice President for Finance and Chief Financial Officer
Lynn T. Singer
Deputy Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
Sally J. Staley
Chief Investment Officer
Louis W. Stark
Vice President for Student Affairs
John Wheeler
Senior Vice President for Administration
Deans
Pamela Bowes Davis
Dean of the School of Medicine, Vice President for Medical Affairs
Jeffrey Duerk
Dean of the Case School of Engineering
Grover C. Gilmore
Dean of the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences
Jerold S. Goldberg
Dean of the School of Dental Medicine
Mary E. Kerr
Dean of the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing
Lawrence E. Mitchell
Dean of the School of Law
Charles E. Rozek
Dean of the School of Graduate Studies
Cyrus C. Taylor
Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences
Robert Widing II
Dean of the Weatherhead School of Management
Jeffrey Wolcowitz
Dean of Undergraduate Studies
Board of Trustees, Officers
Chuck Fowler
Chair of the Board of Trustees
Timothy J. Callahan
Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees
Thalia Dorwick
Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees
Joseph A. Sabatini
Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees
University Libraries and Resources
All Case Western Reserve University’s libraries support the university’s undergraduate, graduate and professional programs. Combined, their collections contain nearly 3 million volumes. Collections of electronic databases and electronic journals are available for all university faculty, staff, and students through the campus network or authorized remote access. The libraries include the Kelvin Smith Library and its branches, the Cleveland Health Sciences Library, the School of Law Library, and the Harris Library at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences.
Kelvin Smith Library (KSL) serves as the knowledge and creativity commons of the campus. It is open to all members of the university community, and its collections and services primarily support the faculty, staff, undergraduate, and graduate students of the College of Arts and Sciences , the Case School of Engineering , the Weatherhead School of Management , and the general administration of the university. Collections and research services begin with the main collection of nearly 2 million volumes on 30 miles of compact movable shelving that maximizes space in the building for researchers to work in a variety of styles, collaboratively or individually. Branches include collections, staff, and services:
- KSL has access to more than 56,000 unique serials and periodicals and has a large retrospective collection housed in the Retrospective Research Collections Center (RRCC) located in Cedar Avenue Service building. The RRCC offers daily retrieval service to KSL for materials that can be borrowed, and also has a reading room and staff to assist with the collections housed at the Center.
- The Astronomy and Kulas Music Libraries are branches of KSL and are housed within their respective departments.
Kelvin Smith Library and branch collections are featured on KSL's web page. The collections include print and electronic books and journals that expand learning and scholarship, as well as audiovisual materials and government documents. Special collections include rare books, manuscripts and university archives. Digital Case is the digital repository of campus intellectual output and special collections of the university. The Freedman Center for Digital Scholarship supports new ways to incorporate digital technologies into academic research including personalized services such as support regarding Statistics and Geospatial Data . KSL provides staff and services in support of teaching and research, including expert research assistance in-person, online, and onsite in academic departments. ILLiad interlibrary loan services and electronic article delivery brings research to the desktop for researchers on or off campus. During fall and spring academic semesters, individuals with current Case ID cards can take advantage of KSL spaces and collections 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. KSL houses the Cramelot Café , an art gallery and the Graduate Student Research Commons as well. Students can also reserve Collaboration Rooms to enable groups to accommodate collaborative learning. The new Personal Librarian Program provides individualized research assistance to all first-year students. KSL's web page , Newsblog and Facebook page keep the campus informed of events and the continuing evolution of the Kelvin Smith Library.
The Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences (MSASS) has the distinction of being one of the few schools of social work that maintains a professional library for the use of its students, staff, faculty, and alumni as well as for the general university community. The Mandel School's Lillian F. and Milford J. Harris Library contains over 40,000 volumes and subscriptions to 250 periodicals and about 900 video and audio items to support Mandel School academic programs, and is located on the 2nd and 3rd floors of the MSASS building. The library also has a variety of electronic media and other materials, which are available for classroom use by faculty. The Harris Library reference staff assist researchers in the library and via phone and email, and a computing lab and Help Desk also support MSASS students. The library’s website provides information resources and Licensing and Credentialing information for social work students, faculty, practitioners, and other human service workers in Greater Cleveland.
The Cleveland Health Sciences Library (CHSL) has two facilities with collections that are open to all university students, faculty and staff. The Health Center Library (HCL) is located in the School of Medicine and provides services in support teaching and research in the Schools of Dental Medicine , Medicine , and Nursing . Training in using its extensive electronic and print resources is offered individually and to small groups in classrooms and academic departments. Allen Memorial Medical Library houses a collection of books and journals on clinical, medical, and surgical practice. Information, news, and highlights about collections, library spaces and services of HCL are featured on the CHSL homepage, with direct links to featured collections and resources like PubMed, ClincialKey, AccessMedicine, UpToDate, and its ILLiad interlibrary loan services tailored to health sciences users The Allen is home to the Dittrick Medical History Center and Museum with a history of medicine book collection, rare books, archives, and medical artifacts News is featured on the Dittrick Museum Blog.
The Judge Ben C. Green Law Library , located in the School of Law, provides outstanding information access and related services to the law school and university communities. Collections in all formats include strengths related to British and Commonwealth law, taxation, labor, law, foreign investments, international law, environmental law, and intellectual property. We are the only law library in the United States that serves as a depository library for the government of Canada. Most intellectual resources of the law library are available to all CWRU students and faculty, and our reference librarians will be happy to help you find available resources responsive to your inquiry.
The law library’s website provides direct access to much library content and many core library services. Posts and social media outreach push information about events, services and newly available content to the campus community.
The CWRU libraries offer the Summon discovery service, an easy-to-use search tool that enables students and faculty to search across all of the libraries' print and digital collections. The search box appears at the top of the library home page. Summon searches include the Case Catalog, which is the university’s comprehensive online access portal with all the collections and resources owned or licensed by the libraries. The Case Catalog also includes collections of the Robinson Library at the Cleveland Institute of Music, the Gund Library at the Cleveland Institute of Art, the Aaron Garber Library of Judaic Studies and the Western Reserve Historical Society. The Case Catalog is accessible through any web browser and also provides quick links to the individual library websites . For authenticated individuals, the Case website also offers quick links to the Research Database List , the electronic journal portal , and OhioLINK consortium materials. It also features research tools and access for Course Reserves and RefWorks citation management, and ILLiad services for each library. Computer workstations are located in each campus library to facilitate use of digital library information resources, and classrooms provide opportunities for learning and library instruction. Network access allows researchers to search the resources of the university’s libraries and the OhioLINK Central Catalog from any port on the campus network, from the Kelvin Smith Library wireless network, or remotely through university-authenticated VPN software.
Case Western Reserve University is a founding member of the OhioLINK consortium, which provides a shared, unified catalog for ninety colleges and universities, the State Library of Ohio and the Cuyahoga County Public Library system. The OhioLINK Central Catalog , with nearly 50 million books and library materials, provides online access to a rich and robust variety of research materials such as 15,000,000 electronic journal articles in the Electronic Journal Center, 62,000 digital books in the Electronic Book Center, 32,000 online theses and dissertations in the Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Center, 3,000 digital media items in the Digital Resource Center, and hundreds of online databases in all disciplines. CWRU faculty, students, and staff enjoy automated online borrowing and renewals of book and media materials, as well as onsite borrowing privileges at OhioLINK member libraries. OhioLINK resources supplement local collections and augment online resources by maximizing resources by maximizing resources for consortial licensing opportunities, bringing a vast array of online content to the members. The Libraries are also members of the Center for Research Libraries, which enables borrowing from the vast shared resources of the Center.
CPL@Case--KSL offers a site collection of Cleveland Public Library materials for all Case students, staff, and faculty with current Case IDs. Best sellers, audio books, and other public library materials may be borrowed with a Cleveland Public Library card. The site collection is designed for students who otherwise are not able to travel to public libraries in the area, with these items borrowed and returned directly to the Kelvin Smith Library . Read more details about privileges for CPL@Case--KSL , including how current faculty, staff, and students can get a CPL library card at KSL.
Other libraries in University Circle enrich the academic experience and include the Cleveland Institute of Art, the Cleveland Institute of Music, the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Western Reserve Historical Society, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and the Cleveland Botanical Garden Library.
The university is a member of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), which comprises 125 North American research libraries.
Information Technology Services
The division of Information Technology Services (ITS) provides premier solutions that support and further the teaching, learning and research missions of Case Western Reserve University. We are committed to the stewardship of the university's information technology resources and to fostering an environment in which integrity, communication, collaboration and support are paramount in everything we do.
New to CWRU: Welcome to Case Western Reserve University!
ITS provides the university with services that uphold and strengthen the interaction between challenge, discovery, scholarship, learning, teaching, working and technology. The division offers a wide range of products and services that impact the education, research and operational aspects of Case Western Reserve.
ITS publishes four guides for technology immersion at the university, one each for undergraduate students, graduate and professional students, staff and faculty members. The guides offer step-by-step instructions regarding a wide range of essential resources, from connecting to the campus network to utilizing the division's training and software offerings. Publications about the research technologies and digital media services provided by ITS also are available.
ITS Service Desk
The ITS Service Desk provides 24/7/365 free and unlimited technology service and support to students, faculty and staff of the university community.
- Phone: 216.368.HELP (4357)
- Email: help@case.edu
- In Person: Bellflower and Sears CARE Centers
- Online: help.case.edu
eStore: Your key to great discounts on computers, mobile phones and more!
Case Western Reserve University maintains strategic partnerships with many premier technology manufacturers that allow the university to offer our students, faculty and staff cutting-edge technology products and services at discounted prices. Products available at the eStore include computers, backup services, high-speed internet, mobile devices and computing accessories.
Software Center: Free and discounted prices on popular titles and operating systems
Case Western Reserve faculty, staff and students may download more than 40 software packages from the Software Center , which the university has purchased and made available at little to no cost through site licenses with software manufacturers. Packages and tools include:
- Microsoft Office
- Symantic Endpoint Protection
- Adobe Creative Suite
- Adobe Acrobat Professional
- Operating System upgrades
- Software tools for mathematics, statistics and computer programming
Case Western Reserve students, faculty and staff have unlimited and free access to Lynda.com , a leading training provider that offers more than 3,275 training courses. The university's partnership with Lynda.com provides the Case Western Reserve community with a wide range of training opportunities from Google Apps for Education and the Adobe Creative Suite to Web development and business skills. Each topic is conveniently broken into brief, manageable segments. Industry experts and educators teach these video-based tutorials, which are accessible 24/7 for self-paced learning. Access Lynda.com using your CWRU Network ID and password here .