Alumna and trustee Susan Mucciarone (MGT ’84) is reinforcing her long-standing support for student success and leadership development at Case Western Reserve University with a $1 million gift to Weatherhead School of Management.
The gift builds on Mucciarone’s $1 million commitment in 2020. Half of the new funding will fully endow the Susan P. Mucciarone Scholarship for Weatherhead graduate students, while the remaining $500,000 will establish the Susan P. Mucciarone Undergraduate Scholarship for participants in the Celia Scott Weatherhead Leadership Institute. The university-wide program launches this fall and focuses on experiential, service-based leadership development.
“Susan is committed to creating transformative opportunities for students that enable them to connect what they learn in the classroom with real-world experiences,” said Case Western Reserve University President Eric W. Kaler. “Her generous support for both of these scholarships will prepare our students to become leaders who analyze and solve problems by thinking across disciplines.”
A first-generation college graduate, Mucciarone grew up in a family of restaurant entrepreneurs in Lake County, Ohio (located just east of Cleveland). That environment fostered a resourceful, can-do mindset and a belief in education as a pathway to opportunity.
After earning her accounting degree, Mucciarone began her career at BFGoodrich in Akron, Ohio, and soon enrolled in Weatherhead’s part-time MBA program. Initially completing coursework through recorded lectures, she readily transitioned to and recognized the value of learning on campus.
“My time at Weatherhead taught me how to think in even a sharper way. The group learning exposed me to broader strategy management, ethics and the foundational aspects of effective leadership,” Mucciarone said. “It provided me with the qualifications and exposure to disciplines that would prove to be most useful as I progressed in my career.”
Mucciarone went on to develop new product lines and business initiatives in the financial industry, including having co-founded and led one of the industry’s first multi-client family office practices while at Wachovia, later Wells Fargo, and contributing to its national growth. Later, she joined The Glenmede Trust Co. as managing executive and a member of the management committee, leading efforts to expand and modernize its private client wealth management business.
“Susan didn't arrive at Weatherhead with a silver spoon—she arrived with drive, curiosity and the determination to create enduring value for the clients, companies, and industries she served,” said Andrew Medvedev (CWR ’97), dean of Weatherhead School of Management. “We're proud to be the school that invests in leaders like Susan, and even prouder when they come back to make the same bet on the next generation.”
Upon her retirement, Mucciarone leaned into her commitment to personal philanthropy.
“For me, it starts with a sense of responsibility and gratitude for my education,” Mucciarone said. “These scholarships are all about supporting the students. As a big believer in the value of understanding multiple perspectives, the Weatherhead Leadership Institute feels like a nucleus for cross-pollination among the various colleges and disciplines at CWRU. The immediate value for students is clear, and in thinking about the future, it gives me great satisfaction to imagine how their fully formed leadership ethos will manifest to benefit their clients, the organizations they serve, and possibly, the world in which we all live.”
