Alumnus pays tribute to mentor by naming CWRU in his estate
Whenever Kent Cartwright, PhD (GRS ’79, English), encountered a new literary problem in his 40 years in academia, he always asked himself one question: “What does Bob think about this?”
He was referring to the late Renaissance scholar Robert Ornstein, a professor at Case Western Reserve University from 1966 to 1989 and chair of the English department from 1966 to 1968.
Ornstein was Cartwright’s dissertation director, and the pair developed a bond that lasted long after Cartwright’s years as a student.
“Your dissertation director will always be your teacher, your mentor, but Bob was also my friend,” said Cartwright, now professor emeritus of English at University of Maryland, College Park, where he taught for 35 years. “I read and reread everything he wrote, went to him for advice and tried to emulate him in the classroom. He had a profound impact on my life.”
Cartwright worked closely with Ornstein both in and out of school, working as his grader as well as serving as his research assistant on three educational films. The experience inspired the alumnus to begin giving back to Case Western Reserve just two years after graduation, and he has remained a dedicated supporter ever since.
Now, he and his wife are making a lasting tribute by naming the university in their estate plans.
Though the endowment will be named the Kent and Pamela Cartwright Fund, the bequest honors Ornstein by benefiting the Department of English at CWRU’s College of Arts and Sciences.
“Having chaired the English department at University of Maryland for six years, I know an open-ended gift is the most helpful in advancing a department’s mission,” the alumnus said. “Maybe it will provide research support for faculty members and special activities for students, but ultimately, it’s up to the department—and that’s what Bob would have done.”
Cartwright is not one for praise, and was “flabbergasted” to receive the College of Arts and Sciences’ Distinguished Alumni Award in 2022.
“I don’t need people in the future to remember me or know who I was; it’s not about that,” he said. “We’ll all be forgotten someday, but if you can do a little good, that’s what counts.”
Originally published in the summer 2024 issue of Forward Thinking magazine