Did You Know: CWRU schools of the past

Most on campus know that Case Western Reserve University was formed from the federation of Western Reserve University and Case Institute of Technology in 1967. But how much do you know about those institutions and the others that are part of CWRU’s history? Throughout May, we will give a brief overview of the institutions that comprise what is now Case Western Reserve University. Over the course of Case Western Reserve’s 192-year history, the university has been home to a number of institutions and schools. Several of these schools have not survived to present day but were integral parts of university life at one point, including the Schools of Library Science, Architecture, Pharmacy and Education, and Cleveland College.

School of Pharmacy

The Cleveland Pharmaceutical Association established the Cleveland School of Pharmacy in 1882. Its first president, E. A. Schellentrager, was a noted pharmacist and Cleveland community member who held the position for 22 years. In 1908, the school began its affiliation with (Western Reserve University) WRU, though it stayed downtown in the Ohio Wesleyan Medical School Building for more than a decade. The building, located on Public Square, was purchased through a gift from industrialist and Cleveland native John D. Rockefeller (who also funded Rockefeller Hall on today’s campus). As of the merger in 1908, the school educated 48 students, and in 1910, it even had a basketball team. By 1919, the school’s enrollment had more than doubled to 110 students, and it was decided that the school would move to the University Circle campus in 1920. In 1949, after 67 years, the school closed.

School of Library Science

WRU opened its Library School in 1903 with a founding endowment from well-known industrialist Andrew Carnegie. The initial requirements for admission were strict, with each applicant needing to pass entrance exams in literature, history and current information, and to know two foreign languages, one of which had to be "modern." The school, which was renamed the School of Library Science in 1924, was housed on the first and second floors of Adelbert Hall for many years. According to the 1916-17 course catalog, students could choose from three courses of study: bibliographic, technical and administrative. Students worked with the books in several libraries, including those at the nearby Case School of Applied Science and the Cleveland Public Library’s East Branch, which has since closed. The school was renamed Matthew A. Baxter School of Information and Library Science in 1981, just a few years before it closed in 1986. Much of its history can be found in the book The School of Library Science at Case Western Reserve University: Seventy-five years, 1904-1979.

School of Architecture

In 1924, the Cleveland School of Architecture was established by the Cleveland Chapter of the American Institute of Architects with Abram Garfield, son of U.S. President James A. Garfield, as its president. Five years after its opening, the school became affiliated with Western Reserve University and moved to the University Circle campus. From the move until 1945, the school was housed in Garfield House, which was located on what is now the University Hospitals property. Under the new leadership of Dean Francis R. Bacon, the school was known for its “technical and comprehensive training,” according to Cleveland: The Making of a City. In 1953, the School of Architecture closed, though a Department of Architecture was started at Western Reserve University and housed in Pierce Hall, which stood where the Agnar Pytte Science Center is today. The Department of Architecture was disbanded in 1972 during the reorganization of the colleges.

Cleveland College

Cleveland College was established in 1925 with the goal of providing higher education to nontraditional students, primarily adult learners who already had families, jobs or both. Western Reserve University and the Case School for Applied Sciences jointly established the institution, which was renamed a year later to reflect this partnership. In 1934, Case disaffiliated with Cleveland College as it had opened its own “Evening Division,” but the college remained affiliated with WRU until its consolidation in 1972. Despite being an important part of WRU, Cleveland College was located downtown in a number of buildings on and near Public Square; its primary building was originally the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce. Renamed the Newton Diehl Baker Memorial Building, the edifice stood where Key Tower is today and was demolished during the construction of the newer building. The college was relocated to University Circle in 1954. In 1953, it had an enrollment of 5,466 students completing either degree or non-degree programs in subjects similar to those offered at WRU’s other colleges. It was housed from 1958 to 1972 in a building that stood on the corner of Euclid Avenue and Adelbert Road where Binary Walkway is now.

School of Education

The School of Education at Western Reserve University came from not one but four local institutions that merged in 1928: the Cleveland School of Education, Senior Teacher's College of Western Reserve University, College for Women Education Department and the Nursery-Kindergarten-Primary Training Department. The Cleveland School of Education, established in 1874 by the Cleveland Board of Education, was the oldest institution involved. In 1915, the school helped form the Senior Teacher's College, a summer program at WRU. Also at WRU, the College for Women opened its Education Department in 1916. The youngest school, the Department of Nursery-Kindergarten-Primary Training, was a WRU program transferred from the Cleveland Day Nursery and Free Kindergarten Association of Cleveland. The School of Education was replaced by the Department of Education in 1945. The department closed in 1979. Among the school’s graduates is Jean Murrell Capers (EDU ‘32), noted civil rights activist and Cleveland politician who served until she was 70 and lived to the age of 104. Read more about the university’s history at case.edu/about/history.html.