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Case Western Reserve University

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Image:caselogob.jpg
Image:Case seal.jpg
Established 1967
WRC:1826
CIT:1880
Type Private university
Endowment $1.68bn (March 2006) [1]
President Gregory L. Eastwood, M.D. (Interim)
Faculty 2,400 full-time
Undergraduates 4,186
Postgraduates 5,766
Location Cleveland, OH, U.S.
Campus Urban, 155 acres [2]
Athletics 19 Division III varsity teams [3]
Mascot Spartan[4]
Website www.case.edu

Case Western Reserve University is a private research university located in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, with some dormitories on the south end of campus located in Cleveland Heights. It was formed in 1967 by the federation of Case Institute of Technology (founded in 1880 by philanthropist Leonard Case Jr.) and Western Reserve University (founded in 1826 in the area that was once the Connecticut Western Reserve). The University offers programs of study in Arts and Sciences, Dental Medicine, Engineering, Law, Management, Medicine, Nursing, and Social Sciences. Case is distinguished by its strengths in education, research, service, and experiential learning, and these areas are often recognized on both a national and international scale in annual publications and rankings lists.

Contents

[edit] Organization

The university in its present form consists of eight schools:

[edit] Rankings

Case's endowment is among the highest in the United States and ranks at #32 among all U.S. colleges and universities. Furthermore, the University comes in at #18 for largest endowment growth over the past 20 years, experiencing an increase of 393% in that time (See: List of U.S. colleges and universities by endowment).

According to US News and World Report 2007 rankings, Case's undergraduate program is ranked #1 in Ohio and #38 among national universities. It is most highly regarded for its medical school (currently ranked #21 and #22 for primary care and research, respectively, in US News rankings) and Biomedical Engineering department, which consistently ranks in the top 5 among undergraduate and graduate biomedical engineering programs.

Among national universities, the 2006 US News Rankings placed the Weatherhead School of Management undergraduate program at #29 with the Case School of Engineering undergraduate school taking the #39 spot. In 2004, the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences was ranked #11. When last ranked in 2003, the graduate program at the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing came in at #15. In the 2006 rankings, Case was listed at #23 for Best Value institutions, which are defined as colleges which offer a quality education for a low cost when taking into account scholarships and financial aid awards.

The new annual release of medical school rankings from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) shows the Case School of Medicine and its affiliates has attained an overall institutional ranking of 12th among the nation’s 122 medical schools [5].

The National Science Foundation has ranked Research and Development Expenditures for Case at #34 among all US Colleges and Universities [6]. Furthermore, Case ranks at #32 for Federal Obligations to support Science and Engineering Growth and Development [7].

[edit] Campus

The university is approximately five miles (8 km) east of downtown Cleveland in University Circle, a 550 acre (2.2 km²) area containing numerous educational, medical, and cultural institutions. Case has a number of programs taught in conjunction with nearby institutions, including the Cleveland Institute of Music, the Cleveland Hearing & Speech Center, the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, the Western Reserve Historical Society (WRHS), and the Cleveland Play House.

Haydn Hall on the campus of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio

There are two main transportation options for students: For on and near-campus transportation, Case has a fleet of shuttle buses better known as "Greenies." For longer trips, students may use the Cleveland RTA buses and rail system. Each student receives an unlimited RTA pass, which is paid for via a mandatory $25 fee per semester.

Case does not own its parking lots, requiring students, faculty, and staff to purchase permits from University Circle Incorporated. The rates vary between approximately $30 and $80 per month, with multi-year waiting lists on the most popular lots.

[edit] Students

As of 2005-2006, the university had 4,186 undergraduate students and 5,766 graduate and professional students. The undergraduate student body hails from all 50 states and 82 international countries, but despite this, approximately 45% of the undergraduates are from Ohio.[8]

[edit] Student life

A view of the north residential village dorms in January 2005 (note the Village was still under construction)

Unless they are living with a relative within fifty miles of the university, Case requires first and second year students to live in on-campus housing. Meal plan participation is also mandatory for freshmen and sophomores with some exceptions made for religious and medical reasons. New housing for underclassmen, along with a "Greek village" bringing all the college's fraternities and sororities together with the other undergraduates, is slated to be constructed within the next ten years.

The dormitories are divided into two areas, one featuring suite-style rooms for upperclassmen and the other featuring shared-style rooms. Both feature gigabit ethernet network access, and a wireless campus network is also available anywhere on campus. Buildings are organized into "colleges", grouping together students of similar ages and creating a sense of ownership and hall pride. New housing was opened in fall 2005 for upperclassmen, which features one to nine person, "apartment-style" dormitories that come with air conditioning, full kitchen area, and full sized beds.

Residence life at Case has a long history of being liberal in its policies, including allowing coed suites (an option offered to upperclassmen, when requested and agreed upon by all occupants of a suite), and a 3-day guest policy.

Graduate students are not offered housing.

Initially the neighborhood of University Circle had numerous student resources such as drug stores and copy shops. However, since 1998, many of these stores have left, thus making students more dependent on cars.

[edit] First year experience

First year students are grouped into one of four residential colleges that are overseen by First Year Coordinators (FYC). The four residential colleges are made up of several buildings. Mistletoe, Juniper, and Magnolia residential colleges have been in existence for as long as the "First Year Experience" system has been in place. The fourth residential college, Cedar, was created in the fall of 2005 due to a large influx of new students. The residential colleges plan events together and are run by college councils that take student input and use it to plan social and community service-oriented activities.

[edit] Quality of life

The student population was ranked eighteenth unhappiest in 2006 by the Princeton Review, despite a new residential village which was constructed and opened during the 2005-06 academic year. Case's retention rate for 2004 was 91 percent, which is relatively low for a university of its standing. One possible explanation is a high rate of transfers after the lure of first-year scholarships has worn off.

[edit] SAGES Program

Before Case Western Reserve University instituted its innovative SAGES program, undergraduate students had, as Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences, Jill Korbin, put it, a “Chinese restaurant menu” of courses prescribed to them to fulfill their General Education Requirement. This old program stipulated that it had to be reexamined for effectiveness a certain number of years after its introduction. John Bassett was the Dean of Arts and Sciences when the old GER reached its expiration date, and convened a committee of faculty members to consider new program options.

Around the year 2001, after much work by the administration, the University drew up a proposal for the SAGES program. A number of committees and task forces had examined existing research describing what seemed to be the most positive, effective learning experience for undergraduate students. They determined that students gain the most from having close contact with faculty. The University therefore decided to include an advising system as part of SAGES in order to offer a means of faculty support for incoming students. To strengthen this connection, the University opted to take a seminar approach because small groups afford more discussion with professors in class. Students also benefit from the seminars because they mirror how people interact professionally. From this decision arose the name of the program: “The Seminar Approach to General Education,” or SAGES.

Case instituted a pilot program in the year 2002 which required students to take one First Year Seminar, designed around the theme, “The Life of the Mind,” three University Seminars, then close their final year with a Senior Capstone project. The pilot ran for three years with a small group of undergraduates participating. After reviewing the data gathered from the pilot’s run, the faculty voted to revise it such that the requirements included one First Year Seminar, two University Seminars, one Departmental Seminar, and a final Senior Capstone. The logic behind this change was that the addition of a Departmental Seminar would allow students to choose a class within their major, keeping the program engaging. The First Year Seminars were also altered so that the themes around which the classes were based included not only “Life of the Mind,” but also “The Natural World,” “The Social World,” and “The Symbolic World.” This offers students a better chance of having a class available that interests them, increasing their personal investment in the course. As a primary focus of the SAGES program is to sharpen student’s written communication skills, many First Year Seminars that are not taught by English professors have an additional writing instructor. Finally, the faculty voted to shrink class sizes from 25 to 17 in order to foster a better sense of community between students, their peers, and their teachers.

While the content of the curriculum of each SAGES class varies, the intent is to teach the same lesson: how to function and communicate effectively. The program stresses written, verbal, and presentational abilities. The seminar setting of the class improves students’ facility with working in collaborative small groups, as would be found in many professional environments. All of these skills are gained through the conduit of the each class’ individual focus. In other words, by means of the topic “Life of the Mind,” “The Symbolic World,” and so forth, students gain capabilities that are pertinent to today’s job market, skills that employers are seeking in potential employees.

An exceptional feature of the program’s design is that of “SAGES Fourth Hour” events. Each first year seminar class is allotted an hour and fifteen minute block twice a week for the purpose of introducing new students to the cultural sites located within a short walking distance from campus. Students are taken to such places as the Cleveland Natural History Museum, the Botanical Gardens, the Museum of Art, and Severance Hall where the world renowned Cleveland Orchestra is housed. Fourth hour classes are also used as extra class time for professors to extend their lessons if they so need it.

The SAGES program has, however, presented financial problems to the University. Because the classes are designed to be small and intimate, a greater number of faculty members are required to participate. In order to cut costs, Case has called professors from other departments to teach SAGES classes, instead of hiring new faculty, drawing in some teachers who are potentially hesitant or unwilling to participate in the program. On top of adding stress on the faculty, the program has actually diverted money away from certain department by redirecting student enrollment. The SAGES program includes a course, for example, entitled “Suburban Landscapes,” the curriculum of which is nearly identical to the History department’s “Urban History.” Because SAGES fulfills a GER, students are more likely to register for the former, lowering enrollment in the latter. With fewer students registering for history classes, the University has lowered the History Department’s budget.

Despite these problems, most faculty members do not foresee any major changes being made to SAGES. They wish for the program to remain malleable, though. Accordingly, if they perceive that something is not working for the students, they will vote to revise it. Some professors, such as Peter Whiting, are seeking to make the change policy more flexible to facilitate this process.

While the University sees the program as near perfect, the students, of course, have their complaints. Many freshmen have expressed that they are unsure of the purpose of their SAGES seminar. They only have a vague understanding about what they are meant to gain from the course, and therefore find that they have no curiosity or engagement in the class. Some students have observed that their professors do not seem enthusiastic about the topics they teach, which holds consistent with the fact that, due to budgetary restrictions, some teachers were required to participate in SAGES, when perhaps they were disinclined to do so. Students across the board would like to see the stresses of the course become more focused, defined, and consistent, and class conducted in a more purposeful fashion so that they can gain more from it. Second year students, however, tend to agree that they enjoy their University Seminars much more than their First Year Seminars because the classes are more topical, allowing them to choose something in which they have a deep interest. Fourth Hours tend to be popular amongst first years, for they broaden their understanding of the cultural opportunities available near to the University. While they may find some faults with the program, students appreciate the variety of topics offered, the small group discussions, and the opportunity to network with people outside of their majors that SAGES affords.

[edit] Greek system

Nearly a third of the campus undergraduates are in a fraternity or sorority. There are 7 sororities and 16 fraternities. Recently semi-recognition has been given to a colony of Omega Tau Zeta.

[edit] Fraternities

[edit] Sororities

Note: Some sororities may officially be referred to as fraternities due to the history of the group.

[edit] Events

On October 5 2004, Case hosted the Vice Presidential debate between Dick Cheney and John Edwards.

Nearby Severance Hall was also featured in the 1997 Harrison Ford film, Air Force One. The scene during the opening credits shows a night-time military raid on the presidential palace of the leader of Kazakhstan. Severance Hall was chosen to depict the palace. During the scene, several landmarks of Case Western Reserve University are visible, including the Thwing Center (the student union) and the Dittrick Medical History Center.

[edit] Sports, clubs, and traditions

[edit] Varsity athletics

Case Western Reserve University has been a member of the University Athletic Association since the early nineties. The conference participates in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division III. The university offers 10 men's sports and nine women's sports. Two of the teams attained unprecedented success in the fall of 2006, with the women's cross country team winning the Great Lakes regional championship for the first time, and the men's soccer team earning its first-ever NCAA tournament bid.

The Case Men's Soccer team finished their 2006 season with two wins against division opponents to finish with a 16-2-1 record. The team received a bye in their first ever NCAA playoffs.

[edit] Traditions

The Hudson Relays is an annual tradition at Case that occurs on the last weekend before finals every spring semester. It is a relay race between teams drawn from each class year. The race is a distance of 26 miles. Originally, the race was run from Hudson, Ohio, the original site of Western Reserve University, to the present location of the school in University Circle. Since the mid-1980s, the race has been run entirely in the University Circle area. University tradition is that if a class wins the relay for each of its four years, the team will be rewarded with a champagne and steak dinner with the President of the university. The most recent class to achieve this was the class of 2006. The winning class for each year is carved on a boulder located behind Adelbert Hall.

Springfest is a day-long concert and student group festival which occurs later the same day of Hudson Relays. The University Program Board brings in several bands and a beer garden, student groups set up booths to entertain the student body, and various inflatable carnival-style attractions are brought in to add to the theoretically festive atmosphere. Occasionally, due to Cleveland weather conditions (such as those at Springfest 2005), the festival must be moved indoors, usually to Thwing Center or Adelbert Gym.

Halloween at the Farm is a tradition established in the fall of 2002. Halloween at the Farm takes place at the Squire Valleevue Farm in Hunting Valley, Ohio. Students, their families, and faculty are invited to enjoy games, a bon-fire, an open air concert, and hay rides.

Since 1974, the Film Society of Case Western Reserve University has held the Science Fiction Film Marathon. The film fesitval has a very large crowd that enjoys food and 36 hours of non-stop movies including modern, classic, and surprise, science fiction films.

[edit] Facts and figures

Image:Adelbert Hall.jpg
  • Undergraduate Tuition (2005-2006): $31,090
  • Undergraduate Classes with <30 Students: 74%
  • Undergraduate Classes with <20 Students: 56%
  • Nobel Laureates Among Alumni, Faculty, and Researchers: 16
  • Full Time Faculty with Ph.D or equivalent: 95%

[edit] 2005-2006 incoming class statistics

  • Applications Received: 7173
  • Admitted: 4884
  • SAT I (25-75 percentile)
  • Verbal: 600-700
  • Math: 650-750
  • Composite: 1280-1430
  • ACT (25-75 percentile)
27-32
  • 63% in Top 10% of HS Class
  • 22% in 2nd 10% of HS Class

[edit] Top 10 states for undergraduates

  1. Ohio
  2. Pennsylvania
  3. New York
  4. Illinois
  5. Michigan
  6. Massachusetts
  7. California
  8. Texas
  9. Maryland
  10. Connecticut

[edit] Diversity

  • Caucasian: 59%
  • Asian/Pacific Islander: 19%
  • African American: 4%
  • Hispanic/Latino: 3%
  • Native American: <1%
  • Other: 3%
  • Male: 55%
  • Female: 45%

[edit] Intended academic interests

  • Arts and Sciences: 27%
  • Engineering: 39%
  • Management: 6%
  • Nursing: 5%
  • Undecided: 23%

[edit] Official Colors

[edit] Notable students, alumni and faculty

[edit] Research

Following is a partial list of major contributions made by faculty, staff, and students at Case:

  • Case was the site of the famous Michelson-Morley interferometer experiment, conducted in 1887 by A. A. Michelson of Case Institute of Technology and E. W. Morley of Western Reserve University. This experiment proved the non-existence of ether and gave circumstantial evidence to substantiate Einstein's Theory of Relativity (Profs. Albert A. Michelson and Edward W. Morley, 1887).
  • Discovered the atomic weight of oxygen, the basis for calculating the weights of all other elements (Prof. Morley, 1895).
  • Performed the first full X-ray of the human body -- on himself (Prof. Dayton C. Miller, 1896).
  • Performed the first modern blood transfusion using a coupling device to connect blood vessels (Dr. George W. Crile, 1905).
  • Pioneered chlorination of drinking water to eradicate the source of typhoid bacilli (Dr. Roger G. Perkins, 1912).
  • Developed simulated milk formula for infants (Dr. Henry J. Gerstenberger,1915).
  • Pioneered surgical treatment of coronary artery disease (Dr. Claude S. Beck, 1935).
  • Developed the first heart-lung machine to be used during open heart surgery (Dr. Frederick S. Cross, 1950s).
  • Performed the first successful lifesaving defibrillation of the human heart (Dr. Beck, 1947) and developed the method of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) (Dr. Beck, 1952).
  • Detected for the first-time neutrinos created by cosmic-ray collisions with the earth's atmosphere and developed innovative particle detectors (Prof. Frederick Reines, 1965). Case had selected Prof. Reines as chairman of the physics department based on Reines's work in first detecting neutrinos emitted from a nuclear reactor--work for which Reines in 1995 shared the Nobel Prize. (Official summary)
  • Pioneered the materials science of polymers with the creation of first comprehensive polymer science and engineering department at a major U.S. university (Dr. Eric Baer, 1967).
  • Developed a test for infants to identify mental retardation within a year after birth (Prof. Joseph F. Fagan, 1987).
  • Created the first artificial human chromosomes, opening the door to more detailed study of human genetics and potentially offering a new approach to gene therapy. (Prof. Huntington F. Willard of the School of Medicine and University Hospitals of Cleveland, in collaboration with colleagues at Athersys, Inc., 1997).

Today, the university operates several facilities off campus for scientific research. One notable example of this is the Warner and Swasey Observatory at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona.

[edit] Music

WRUW 91.1 FM is the campus radio station of Case Western Reserve University. Its motto, "More Music, Fewer Hits", can be seen adorning the rear bumpers of many vehicles in the area. WRUW broadcasts at a power of 15,000 watts and covers most of Northeast Ohio 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

WRUW is staffed by Case students and community volunteers. The station's format can be classified as non-commercial "variety". For information on what is currently on the station, please visit their website at www.WRUW.org.

Case is also home to several performing ensembles, including the a capella groups Case in Point and Speakeasy.

[edit] Computing

Case had the first ABET accredited program in computer engineering [9].

In 1968, the university formed an innovative private company, Chi Corporation, to provide computer time to both it and other customers. Initially this was on a Univac 1108 (replacing the preceding UNIVAC 1107), 36 bit, one's complement machine[10]. The company was sold in 1977 to Robert G. Benson in Beachwood, Ohio.

Project Logos, under ARPA contract, was begun within the department on a DEC System-10 (later converted to TENEX (BBN) in conjunction with connection to the ARPANET) to develop a computer-aided computer design system. This system consisted in a distributed, networked, graphics environment, a control and data flow designer and logic (both hardware and software) analyser. Graphics and animation became another departmental focus with the acquisition of an Evans and Sutherland LDS-1, which was hosted by the DES System-10, and later with the acquisition of the stand alone LDS-2.

Case was one of the earliest universities to be connected to the ARPANET, predecessor to the Internet. ARPANET went online in 1969; Case was connected in January, 1971 [11].

Case pioneered the early Free-Net computer systems, creating the first Free-net, The Cleveland Free-Net, as well as writing the software that drove a majority of those systems, known as FreePort. The Cleveland Free-Net was shut down in late 1999, as it had become obsolete.

It was the first university to have an all-fiber-optic network, in 1989 [12] [13]. CWRUnet timeline

At the inaugural meeting in October, 1996, Case was one of the thirty-four charter university members of Internet2 [14].

The university was #1 in Yahoo Internet Life's 1999 Most Wired College list [15]. There was a perception that this award was obtained through partially false or inaccurate information submitted for the survey, and the university did not appear at all on the 2000 Most Wired College list (which included 100 institutions); the numbers reported were much lower than those which had been submitted by Ray Neff in 1999. [16] [17] [18] [19] [citation needed] The university had previously placed #13 in the 1997 poll [20].

In August, 2003, Case joined the Internet Streaming Media Alliance, then one of only two university members [21].

In September, 2003, Case opened 1,230 public wireless access points on the Case campus and University Circle [22].

Case was one of the founding members of OneCleveland [23], formed in October, 2003. [24]. OneCleveland is an "ultra broadband" (gigabit speed) fiber optic network. This network is for the use of organizations in education, research, government, healthcare, arts, culture, and the nonprofit sector in Greater Cleveland [25].

Case Western Reserve University is also known for its Virtual Worlds gaming computer lab, opened in 2005. The lab has a large network of Alienware PCs equipped with software such as Torque Game Engine and graphics editors such as Maya. Additionally, it also has a well-equipped music room and console room, which features video game systems such as Xbox, PlayStation 2, and GameCube. This laboratory can be used by any student in the EECS department and is also used for the Game Development course.

[edit] External links

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