Barbara R. Snyder Comes Home, Formally Invested as President at Fall Convocation
Like the Case Western Reserve University students she welcomed to the start of the 2007 academic year during the annual Fall Convocation, Barbara R. Snyder said that in some ways, she, too, is just beginning her education here.
As part of the 2007 convocation ceremony on August 29, Frank N. Linsalata, chair of the university's board of trustees, formally invested Snyder with the responsibilities and authority of the institution's leadership position and bestowed upon her the President's Medal during her formal installation as Case Western Reserve's newest president.
Snyder represents the 21st president since the university's founding and the seventh president since the 1967 federation of Western Reserve University and Case Institute of Technology.
Although she started her academic career as a faculty member at the Case Western Reserve School of Law in the 1980s, Snyder said so many things have changed since then that she has much to learn.
"Back then, CDs were the new thing, and cell phones weighed pounds rather than ounces," she jested before an audience of over a 1,000 in Severance Hall. "Much has changed in the years I was gone, so it is fair to say that more about the university is new to me than is familiar."
Snyder said the best way for her to learn about the current Case Western Reserve is to continue to spend time with students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends. She cited several historic and recent accomplishments of members of the university community she has come to know.
"Our university is filled with potential; the potential to be among a small number of truly great urban research universities," Snyder said. "Beginning now, we have the opportunity, indeed, the responsibility, to create its future, to ensure that our university lives up to its enormous promise."
Snyder pledged to work with university stakeholders to create a measurable strategic plan and to restore the long-term financial health of the institution.
The university's newest and first woman president drew special attention to the quote from T.S. Eliot's The Four Quartets—"Home is where one starts from"—that has served as the theme for this year's convocation and investiture ceremony. In concluding, she quoted four more lines: We shall not cease from exploration/And the end of all our exploring/Will be to arrive where we started/And know the place for the first time.
"In many ways, I am getting to know this place, the Case Western Reserve University of the 21st century, for the first time," Snyder said. "But even as I begin, I already have no doubt that it is home." Read Snyder’s complete remarks.
Alumni Input Sought on University Homepage
Case Western Reserve University alumni are reminded that they have until September 7 to offer feedback via the university's Web Development Blog on the proposed redesign of the university's homepage. Questions to be considered: What are the two or three most important objectives of a university Web homepage? Who are the two or three most important audiences for a university Web homepage? What kinds of content would best meet those objectives and reach those audiences? The redesign of the homepage has been a multiyear process, with input and ideas solicited from members of the university community.
Campus News
Two days remain to spruce up the office or residential housing unit via the annual Thwing Plant and Poster Sale. Buy plants or posters today and tomorrow, August 30-31, in Thwing Center ballroom. Plants are $3-$15. Learn more.
The Task Force on Sexual Conduct has launched its Sexual Conduct at Case Web site, and encourages feedback from the campus community. Send feedback by e-mail to the Center for Women. The Task Force was formed in May 2005 and advocates for a safe campus, where ethical relationships and mutual respect among students, faculty and staff are expected and encouraged.
For Faculty & Staff
Check out Kelvin Smith Library's digital library, which archives, preserves and disseminates the intellectual output of research at the university in electronic formats, as well as collections of historical library materials that have been digitized. View and research the online collection, exhibit, images and the scholarship of faculty, graduate students and professional staff.
For Students
Interested in joining Case Crew? Join the group by filling out the interest form on the Crew Club Web site. Everyone is welcome; no experience necessary.
Events
The Weatherhead Business Fellowship will host its kickoff party from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., September 6 at the Peter B. Lewis Building, Room 02. Snacks and beverages will be served. All students, faculty and staff who are interested in the integration of Christian faith and business are invited.
Refer to the Web event calendar for a list of events and activities on campus and in the community today and in the days ahead.
In Memoriam
John R. Carter, 90, retired professor of pathology and orthopaedics at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, died August 26 at his home in Willoughby. He also was director of the school's Institute of Pathology. Read the full obituary.
Peter C. Wang, 88, helped folks quit smoking, relieved their arthritis pain and immersed them in Chinese culture. The former Gates Mills resident, who died July 26, opened a Chester Township acupuncture clinic with his wife, Rose, in the late 1970s. Wang was a lecturer at Case Western Reserve in the Division of Special Interdisciplinary Studies from 1969-1974 and in the Division of Modern Languages and Literature from 1974-1976. Read the full obituary.
