Weatherhead School of Management

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The Weatherhead School of Management spans the spectrum of research and learning from Appreciative Inquiry (AI) to Artificial Intelligence (AI). Weatherhead's more than 1,400 students study undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs in the Peter B. Lewis Building. Weatherhead's Executive Education programs engage more than 3,000 people annually and offer the latest in leadership development programs to help individuals at all stages of their careers grow in their profession. Our Fowler Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit brings students together with an international network of educators, researchers and practitioners who incorporate social and global issues into business innovation and social entrepreneurship. 

Through innovative curriculum in data-driven management, Weatherhead continues to position graduates for high-demand jobs that connect business with analytics and technology in a rapidly changing world. STEM master's degrees for MBA, Accounting, Business Analytics and Intelligence, Finance, and Supply Chain Management provide students with in-demand technical knowledge, such as big data, artificial intelligence and blockchain technology, that is essential for a competitive business career. Located in the hub of healthcare in Cleveland, Ohio, Weatherhead gives aspiring healthcare business professionals the tools and resources they need to succeed in our Online MBA with a concentration in Healthcare Management.  

As a management school within a top research university, Weatherhead's faculty members are committed to expanding knowledge and contributing to global scholarship through their research. Weatherhead faculty pioneered concepts in Appreciative Inquiry, Emotional Intelligence competencies, Intentional Change Theory and Manage by Designing. Our faculty have extensive, real-world business experience and connections to business leaders which they leverage to help students learn and develop networks. Students have unique opportunities to work closely with our world-class faculty members.

At Weatherhead School of Management, we aim to relentlessly carry out our mission by working toward our vision in a culture defined by our values.

Mission

Our mission at Weatherhead is to transform the world’s most complex challenges into humanity’s greatest breakthroughs.

• Shaping leaders who thrive in complexity and drive intentional change
• Sparking discovery that translates into impactful solutions
• Mobilizing our community to scale impact

Vision

The Weatherhead School of Management is a personal, interconnected, pathbreaking academic community that catalyzes change at the nexus of business, humanity, and technology.

Values

These values form the strategic foundation of our institutional identity. They’re not aspirational ideals, but the deliberate behaviors that operationalize our mission and distinguish our approach to management education.

1. Curious: Drive transformational discovery 
   • Inquire openly across boundaries. Probe convention and invite dissent. Run small tests to validate assumptions. Challenge defensive positions. Make methods transparent, not obscure. Stay humble about what we know and hungry to learn.
2. Courageous: Take calculated risks and drive breakthroughs that improve lives and strengthen communities.
   • Act despite uncertainty. Say difficult things kindly. Make small bets and learn quickly. Raise risks early with proposed solutions. Be intentional about impact—make work useful and used, not just interesting. Start with the problem and audience. Seek evidence over claims. 
3. Collaborative: Unite diverse perspectives across boundaries to tackle truly complex problems 
   • Build with students, colleagues, alumni, partners, and community. Communicate early and often. Prioritize co-creation over individual work. Share knowledge openly and ethically. Invest in relationships and care for each other. Couple ideation with pilots to test ideas together.

Brief History

In 1952, Western Reserve University established the School of Business by combining the Cleveland College Division of Business Administration and the Graduate School Division of Business Administration, and from its founding until 1988, the activities of the School of Business were divided among a number of buildings both in downtown Cleveland and in University Circle. In 1967, the merger of Case Institute of Technology and Western Reserve University created Case Western Reserve University, and the Western Reserve University School of Business absorbed Case’s Division of Organizational Sciences to become the School of Management in 1970. Just six years later, the School of Management launched its full-time MBA.

In 1980, the School of Management was renamed in honor of Albert J. Weatherhead III, a Cleveland businessman and industrialist who represented the fourth generation of his family to carry on the Weatherhead name and values, including cultural and educational leadership. By 1999, the Weatherhead School of Management had developed a strong identity, growing out of its space in Enterprise Hall and requiring new construction. Funded by the philanthropist and entrepreneur whose name it bears, the Peter B. Lewis Building, designed by renowned contemporary architect Frank Gehry and completed in 2002, was the answer. Located across the street from the George S. Dively Building, which houses Weatherhead Executive Education programs, the Lewis Building, featuring Gehry’s unmistakable sculptural profile and gleaming stainless steel roof, both sets the school apart from its surroundings and, quite literally, reflects the prestigious neighborhood of the school. Gehry redefined the way a business school should look, just as Weatherhead redefines the way management education should take place. 

Accreditation

The programs of the Weatherhead School of Management have been fully accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) International since 1958.