Interim President James W. Wagner (presidency years: 2001–2002) took the lead following the abrupt resignation of President David H. Auston in 2001. He inherited the task of negotiating a new affiliation agreement with University Hospitals, which was agreed upon in 2002 and included key points such as joint ownership and operation of what is now the Wolstein Research Center and the development of a national model for medical education.
The Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University program also emerged under his interim presidency.
