Transformational gift leads the way

When the Weatherhead Foundation invested in the management school at Case Western Reserve University more than 45 years ago, their gift fueled an institution that has become known for breakthrough management research, experience-based education and exceptional leadership development.

Today, the foundation is amplifying its commitment to the next generation of leaders at Case Western Reserve University through a $25 million gift that will launch the Celia Scott Weatherhead Leadership Institute. 

Housed at Weatherhead School of Management, this university-wide, interdisciplinary institute will help students develop the experiential and service-based leadership skills they need to make courageous, ethical and emotionally intelligent decisions in the real world.

“As president of the Weatherhead Foundation, Celia has proven she is a strategic, impactful leader—changing the lives of so many through thoughtful support to organizations that can make a difference,” said Case Western Reserve University President Eric W. Kaler. “We are grateful for her continued commitment to the Weatherhead School and to this university—including as an emerita trustee—so we can develop leaders who are ready to be a force for good in the world.”

Proven success

The Celia Scott Weatherhead Leadership Institute, set to debut in fall 2026, will benefit students at all levels—from undergraduate to graduate to executive education.

The institute’s first initiative is at the undergraduate level: Participants will take part in a four-year program that includes projects that give them hands-on experience in both communities and corporations, as well as mentorship opportunities with alumni, faculty and peers.

“Seeing the solutions-oriented, high-impact leaders that Case Western Reserve and the Weatherhead School have produced over the years made me realize there is a remarkable opportunity to not just continue this powerful work, but to amplify it exponentially,” Celia Weatherhead said. “This institute will develop the next generation of leaders who are driven to excel in their fields and make positive changes both in Cleveland and in our society.”

Learning from a leader

They’ll do so under the guidance of a legendary leader. Scott Cowen (HON ’11)—now a university trustee who served as dean of Weatherhead School of Management from 1984 to 1998, interim president of Case Western Reserve University from 2020 to 2021, and a visiting professor recently teaching a leadership class at Weatherhead School—has been named inaugural chair of the Celia Scott Weatherhead Leadership Institute.

Cowen’s return marks a full-circle moment: When Albert J. Weatherhead III and the foundation gave $3 million to strengthen the business school in 1979, he developed a strong relationship with Cowen, who became dean of the school a few years later and grew the school’s prominence exponentially by the 1990s. Cowen became president of Tulane University—Celia Weatherhead’s undergraduate alma mater—in 1998. 

“The Weatherhead School will always be a deeply important place for me, in no small part because of Al and Celia,” Cowen said. “Having the opportunity to return to the school and lead an institute that will be transformative for students is an incredible honor and opportunity; the fact that it’s made possible because of the Weatherheads is exemplary.”