Year Founded 1826
Students 12,000+ (Undergraduates 6000+, Graduates 6000+)
Student-to-Faculty Ratio 9:1
Who We Are
At Case Western Reserve University, we're a community of innovators, knowledge-seekers and groundbreakers. As a leading national research university located in one of the nation's top arts districts and within walking distance of three major hospitals, we offer ample opportunities for you to excel.
With programs spanning the arts and sciences, engineering, health sciences, law, management, and social work, our research and educational opportunities allow our students, faculty, staff and alumni to tackle today’s toughest problems—and transform the future.
Mission
Case Western Reserve University improves and enriches people’s lives through research that capitalizes on the power of collaboration and education that dramatically engages our students.
We realize this goal through:
Scholarship and creative endeavor that draws on all forms of inquiry.
Learning that is active, creative and continuous.
Promotion of an inclusive culture of global citizenship.
Vision
We aim to be recognized internationally as an institution that imagines and influences the future. Toward that end we will:
Support advancement of thriving disciplines as well as new areas of interdisciplinary excellence.
Provide students with the knowledge, skills and experiences necessary to become leaders in a world characterized by rapid change and increasing interdependence.
Nurture a community of exceptional scholars who are cooperative and collegial, functioning in an atmosphere distinguished by support, mentoring and inclusion.
Pursue distinctive opportunities to build on our special features, including our relationships with world-class healthcare, cultural, educational, and scientific institutions in University Circle and across greater Cleveland.
Core Values
Our four areas of focus guide our decision-making to ensure we make a measurable impact at Case Western Reserve—and far beyond.
Academic Excellence & Impact
- Eminence in teaching and research
- Scholarship that changes lives and deepens understanding
- Creativity and innovation as hallmarks of our efforts
Inclusiveness & Diversity
- Civility and the free exchange of ideas
- Civic and international engagement
- Appreciation for the distinct perspectives and talents of each individual
Integrity & Transparency
- Academic freedom and responsibility
- Ethical behavior
- Shared governance
Effective Stewardship
- Strong, ongoing financial planning
- Emphasis on sustainability
- Systems that support attainment of our mission
Western Reserve’s Founding
Western Reserve College was founded in 1826 in Hudson, Ohio, about 30 miles southeast of Cleveland. The college—the first in northern Ohio—took its name from the surrounding region (known at that time as the Western Reserve of Connecticut). Yet it stood out in the mid- and late-19th century as one of only a few institutions that sought innovation and embraced the sciences.
As the 20th century approached, a newly thriving economy had led to unprecedented population and financial growth in Cleveland. The progress made the city hungry for a university. With funding from American industrialist Amasa Stone, the college moved in 1882 to “uptown” Cleveland, where it lives today, and assumed the name Western Reserve University.
The Case Story
The new university wouldn’t occupy this stretch of Euclid Avenue alone. Five years before Western Reserve’s big move, attorney and philanthropist Leonard Case Jr. had initiated a secret trust to endow a polytechnic school in Cleveland. This school would train men in engineering, sciences, mining, metallurgy and more. Just months after his death in 1880, the Case School of Applied Science was born.
Classes initially were held in the Case family’s downtown Cleveland home until a provision to Stone’s gift—that Western Reserve University and the Case School of Applied Science occupy adjoining campuses—led to the school’s relocation in 1885 after a committee for the two institutions raised funds for the land—and landowners Cordelia Ford and Liberty Holden sold a 43-acre parcel at a substantial discount. Funds for the land, however, had to be raised by the community.
A committee for the two institutions raised $119,400 from 56 donors by March 1881. A land purchase discount from Cordelia Ford and Liberty E. Holden, whose 43-acre property formed the early campus, netted $33,000.
The Federation of Case Western Reserve University
The joint land purchase was the first of many collaborations between Western Reserve University and the Case School of Applied Science. Over the years, the university developed strong liberal arts and professional programs, while the applied science school, which adopted the name Case Institute of Technology in 1947, became a leading school of science and engineering.
By the mid-1960s, the two institutions’ leaders began to recognize the substantial benefits of becoming a single institution. After extensive study and discussion, the boards approved federation. On July 1, 1967, Case Western Reserve University became an official entity—although the full process of integration took another quarter-century to finish.
Modern-Day CWRU
Today, Case Western Reserve boasts strong partnerships across Cleveland that benefit our students and the city. For example: Health sciences students get hands-on experience caring for community members through clinical experiences at Cleveland Clinic, Louis Stokes VA Medical Center, MetroHealth Medical Center and University Hospitals, and art history students take classes and contribute to the understanding of works at Cleveland Museum of Art.