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From the board chair

To Our Alumni and Friends:

When Case Western Reserve attempted its first Day of Giving a decade ago, anxious organizers were overjoyed by the results: almost 800 donors, and just over $795,000 raised.

This year’s tally: more than 2,800 donors, and nearly $1.2 million raised.

Those gains not only underscore your extraordinary generosity, but also how a single idea can grow far beyond initial aspirations.

In 2013, some were so nervous about doing a Day of Giving that they suggested a 72-hour Day of Giving; with more time, the thinking went, the university would be less likely to miss its goals. 

Fortunately, others recognized the problematic math of such an approach, and the event has stayed at 24 hours ever since.

As evidenced by this year’s Day of Giving, many other aspects have changed. In recent years, teams, schools and centers issued challenges to one another. This year, softball set the highest donor tally among varsity athletics, but men’s soccer earned creativity kudos with social media videos highlighting how previous support helped the team. 

In short, the Day of Giving has become more than a way to solicit support; it also encourages a shared sense of community. As one graduate posted on LinkedIn: “Scholarships and financial aid made it possible for me to receive a world-class education at CWRU. That’s why I’m paying it forward with my gift for today’s students.”

This edition of Forward Thinking includes examples of that spirit.

Our cover package features gifts that create opportunities for those who might not otherwise experience them. The commitments allow high school students to spend summers performing medical research and select graduates from adjacent urban districts the financial support to be able to enroll—and the preparation and mentoring to succeed. The stories highlight people who benefitted from others’ philanthropy, and now want to do the same for others. The phrase ‘pay it forward’ is said to have first appeared in a 1916 novel—more than a century later, that good idea continues to have global reach. 

Fred DiSanto
Chair, Board of Trustees
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Features

Creating opportunity (cover story)
Individual donors, foundations and corporate partners provide paths to CWRU for Cleveland-area students.

The power of professorships 
Endowments unlock new possibilities for research, education and faculty recruitment.

Scholarship and Student Experience

Air Force investment continues to pay dividends
Michael (MED ‘76) and Elizabeth Wise establish a scholarship program for Case Western Reserve medical students.

Helping nurse anesthetists take flight
Endowment commitment from Cheryl McRae-Bergeron, DNP (NUR ‘94) to help students at Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing prepare to enter a growing field.

Machine learning
Grant (CIT ‘66; GRS ‘68, engineering) and Dorrit Saviers’ estate commitment to fuel experiential-learning opportunities for undergraduates.

Feeling, again
Endowed professorships enable life-changing research that garners national attention.

Research

$1.25 million question
Family’s experience with cancer inspires transformative gift for genetic cancer research.

Donor Profiles

Advancing our mission today, and in the future
Malcolm Gissen (ADL '65) honors fraternity brother with memorial fund to support Cleveland-area students attending CWRU.

Honoring a trailblazing double alumna
Memorial scholarship at CWRU School of Law continues generous legacy of Jodi Littman Tomaszewski (CWR ’95, LAW ’99).

Continuing a tradition of learning
Professor Emeritus Ronald L. Occhionero, DDS (DEN ’61), extends his impact beyond retirement with dental scholarship fund.

Serving veterans through scholarship
Mike (MGT '00; GRS '13, management) and Ashley Fisher establish the Honoring Our Heroes Endowment Fund to support veterans seeking doctoral degrees in business management.

Corporate and Foundation Support

Brewing innovation
Partnership with Nestlé gives students hands-on research opportunities.

Sounds of music
John P. Murphy Foundation supports establishment of fellowship in popular music studies.

Capital improvements

Hidden gem
Gift from Kevin Kranzusch (CWR ‘90) breathes new life into campus facility.

Strategic Giving

Advancing research in child psychology
Sandra Walker Russ extends her legacy with $1.5 million estate commitment for research.

Engineering scholarship fund fulfills alumnus’s passion for helping others
Children of Alan (CIT ‘52) and Eleanor Burkart pay tribute to parents with gift to Case School of Engineering.

Estate gift of longtime employee to benefit School of Law
Carolyn Patricia “Pat” Ferry’s estate supports Social Justice Law Center and Law Medicine Center at ����APP School of Law.

Strategic giving tips
Legislation provides new opportunities to support CWRU.

Q&A

Thinking forward
Case Western Reserve’s School of Nursing celebrates 100 years since landmark gift from namesake Frances Payne Bolton with fundraising gala.