ALUMNI TALKBACK

Godspeed, Gregory Eastwood.

Welcome back to Case and GOOD LUCK to Dr. Gregory Eastwood! -- DaveG '76

With Hundert sent packing can we go back to a name that resonates with so many people across the country and around the world? Western Reserve University. Case carried no weight for me. Has little meaning now. And as a guy who has spent more than forty years in marketing communications and broadcasting, I'm still amazed that Hundert pushed for the name change. And, it is nice to see "our" faculty has some guts.

As an elite Johns Hopkins graduate degreed cancer geneticist, I am dismayed at the year after year failure of Case undergrad to rank better than 37th, versus 13th!! for Hopkins with its med school consistently #1/#2, in US News rankings, that are critical to attracting out of state applicants. A number of graduate schools at Case are not well ranked, including Law and Business. Given the money/emphasis placed on developing the former Mt. Sinai as a Case medical research/engineering incubator, I look forward to the naming of a nationally respected scientist as the next president of the university, following the Hopkins model, and an emphasis on improving the US News rankings. I don't think this is the time for the next president to be an insider from the Case business school, that overall is not well ranked by US News. Case "equivalents" Carnegie Mellon and Georgetown, where the troubled medical center has lost !$350Million! over the last decade, are rated significantly higher, 25th?, by US News.

Congratulations to Dr. Eastwood. He has a formidable challenge in returning Case-Western Reserve Univ. to its former leadership position. Enough of the cute slogans and four letter name now used to describe the combined institutions. CWRU is what we are, not "CASE". Dump the showmen and institutional politicians who presently hold the deanship and other positions. Appoint leaders and scholars to bring us back the respect CWRU's students and alunmi deserve.

While I congratulate the selection of Dr. Eastwood as interium president, I am also unhappy that once again the voice of alums was not even considered. The institution is in financial crisis, the leadership of the Board of Trustees is questionable, and yet again alums are ignored and we will of course be asked to assist in the recovery of this fiscal mess. At the very least, can we get rid of the "knot" and need the "Case" rebranding effort, which frankly I think has done more harm than good with alums nationwide. In addition, now that we have shiney new buildings on campus, can the administration now focus on programmatic development so the departments and faculty can properly reflect the strengths of the University?

When are we going to stop majoring in minor matters and start focusing on what is really important - the future of our alma mater, not what name it has. Every major industry in the United States has examples of companies that have changed their name for marketing purposes. CWRU is still CWRU - THE NAME HAS NOT CHANGED!!! Case is a branding name, not the University's name. Every student who graduated in the last 10 to 20 years calls it Case. What is the big deal??? Let's stop arguing over this silly mtter and get down to the real business at hand - growing the undergraduate educational experience to a position of national ranking, which is what it truly deserves even as it stands today. One of the significant factors in ranking is the support of alumni. If we really care, let's roll up our sleeves and support our alma mater

While I appreciate the concern the earlier poster expresses about focusing on the undergraduate experience, I must disagree with the statement made regarding the branding controversy. I am a recent graduate of CWRU-NOT CASE-by recent, within the last six years. While attending the University, it was called CASE, but it was just as often called CWRU. The branding name is important to alums from all decades of the University's existance. Marketing names should properly reflect the history and values of the product--the CASE brand does neither. The earlier poster properly pointed out that importance of alums in national rankings. However, if alums feel alienated and disconnected from an institution due to a rebranding name that fails to be inclusive then why should they support the institution?

I agree. If this blogs provides an outlet for you to vent, Baffled Alum, then that's great. But I agree with the previous poster. We may be reading the comments of a few vocal alumni on this blog, but I don't know that they are representative of the entire alumni body. I suspect that to most people, and certainly the more recent alumni, the nickname change isn't that big of a deal. It certainly isn't the biggest issue facing the institution or its constituencies.

I would direct the attention of the last poster to the on-going series of postings on the alumni blog regarding Hundert's resignation. Please read those, they not only indicate the concern of alums about the financial crisis at the University, but also the displeasure generated by the whole "CASE" rebranding fiasco. I think you would be surprised how many alums, regardless of years out of CWRU, were put off by the branding change. More importantly though, I think the postings would give you an idea of how truly upset many are about the current state of the institution in terms of finances and program development. Yes, the name change may seem minor, but its those little things that can determine whether an alum feels included and willing to contribute or not to solving the larger problems facing the University.

As an alum (Western Reserve Univesity '56)I would like to know from what school I was graduated.

Was it Western Reserve University, Case Western Reserve University, or Case?

I am a parent from the East Coast sending my child to Case next year - I seem to read a lot of negative things on the Case site about alumni being upset and financial problems - My son got into a lot of good schools but with the scholarship given it seemed a good match. Now I have second thoughts - other schools go out of their way to show the public a happy situation - it attracts high caliber students and interest. I don't know what the answer to all Cases problems are - but I do know that alumni support, a good alumni network for employment, and a happy campus will attract a lot more students. The online web sites continue to portray Case as a sad place (Princeton review, etc). Maybe you all need to take a cue from Cornell, etc. and have students and alumni start posting positive comments along with the bad ones.

I appreciate the earlier poster's comments about statements made on the alum blog. However, I would point out to the poster that the situation with the University's finances is very troubling, particularly to alumni who have given monetary and other support to the institution. Frankly, I cannot remember in recent history when CWRU faced such a financial crisis like this one. Having said that though, I would point out that on-line reviews, like the Princeton, are subjective at best and frankly only touch the surface of a university's character/culture/environment. There is no doubt in my mind that CWRU is one of the finest institutions of higher learning in the country. Yes, there have been recent negative postings about it, but that is to be expected when any organization is smacked with the financial mess that has struck CWRU. I think most CWRU alums have both positive and negative memories of the University--I also believe you find that typifies alums of other colleges as well. If I did not believe that CWRU was not a top-flight institution I would never have encouraged a younger sibling and two cousins to attend the University--all three did, two for undergrad and the third for grad school. I think as alums we need to not only be encouraging about why potential students should come to CWRU, but also ensure that the administration does not make decisions that endangers the longevity of the University. Alums should be more than just cheerleaders for an institution, they should act as critics as well.

I respect Case School of Applied Science, as an excellent school. If I had my life to live over, I would try to go into engineering, and get accepted there. But I can't.
I went to Western Reserve. I battled the "Plumbers" with every ounce of strength, as did every Red Cat. We were taught to hate them. That old wire fence separated 2 enemies. Then, years later they merged. We Red Cats, and those Rough Riders got along as CWRU, but when some
person decided to call us all by that four letter word, Case, the rebellion started.
I throw any mail with a Case letterhead away, unopened, and I know others that do so also. I never went to Case.
If they need a logo, that has to be easy to say, why not something like CRU. It's got C for Case, R for Reserve, and U for University, and could be pronounced like the word crew.
The only time CRU would be of dubious value, would be at athletic contests, when CRU faithful would get tired of the opposition yelling out,"Screw CRU"

I graduated from CWRU in '71. I also throw out any mail that has just Case written on it. When near the university I hate to see the signage that has just Case on it.

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