Trustee Bob Pavey commits $5 million to establish Case Western Reserve University’s first ‘eminent professorship’

Bob Pavey, a Case Western Reserve University trustee and nationally respected venture capitalist, together with his wife, Trisha, and their family, has committed $5 million to establish the university’s first-ever eminent professorship—marking a historic investment in faculty excellence and transformative research.

The gift creates the Pavey Family Eminent Professorship, an appointment that will be held by Paul Tesar, PhD (CWR '03), director of the Institute for Glial Sciences at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, where his work integrates fundamental discovery with the development of new therapies for neurological disease.

The commitment reflects the shared values of the Pavey family, including Bob and Trisha Pavey; their children, Debbie and Susan; two sons-in-law; and five grandchildren.

“Bob and his family have long supported initiatives, programs and professorships across the university that advance excellence in teaching and research and, importantly, that cultivate collaborative environments for our faculty and students to innovate,” said Case Western Reserve University President Eric W. Kaler. “The Pavey Family Eminent Professorship is a generous commitment that will help to ensure our future of high-impact, groundbreaking discovery at Case Western Reserve.” 

The eminent professorship represents a milestone for the university, as the most significant gift toward funding a faculty position. It is awarded as Case Western Reserve continues to earn national recognition for the critical role its faculty and students play in advancing research, innovation and entrepreneurship.

The timing of the gift is especially meaningful as CWRU marks its bicentennial year. By establishing the university’s first eminent professorship at this moment, the Pavey family’s commitment sets a new standard for philanthropic investment in faculty excellence and serves as a catalyst for others to support the people and ideas that will shape the university’s next century.

“World-class people are what you build a university around,” Pavey said. “If you want to make a real difference, you invest in individuals who are doing important work and have the ability to change their field.”

Pavey is managing partner at Pavey Investments and a partner at Morgenthaler Ventures, with nearly five decades of experience investing in technology-driven companies across multiple industries. Over his career, he has led investments in companies including Apple Computer, Synopsys, Peregrine Semiconductor and others that helped shape today’s technology landscape.

Pavey’s connection to the university began shortly after he arrived in Cleveland in the late 1960s—following the lead of his mentor, David Morgenthaler, who was already assisting university faculty through innovation and venture development efforts. Over time, Pavey became deeply engaged in strengthening the university’s entrepreneurial culture and research enterprise, ultimately joining the Board of Trustees in 2016.

“Case Western Reserve has long been Ohio’s technology university,” Pavey said. “It’s the kind of place that needs to be entrepreneurial—working with exceptional faculty on technologies that can move beyond the lab and into the world.”

That philosophy has guided Pavey’s philanthropy at the university. In addition to supporting the President’s Strategic Initiative Fund and opportunities at the School of Medicine and Weatherhead School of Management, he previously established the Pavey Family Professorship of Innovative Imaging—Revolutionizing the Worlds of Education and Medicine, held by Mark Griswold, PhD, and co-founded the Morgenthaler-Pavey Startup Competition to encourage innovation and venture creation among students and recent alumni.

Investing in discovery

Paul Tesar’s work exemplifies the type of research and leadership that the eminent professorship is designed to support. A pioneer in stem cell biology and neuroscience, he has helped define the role of non-neuronal cells (“glia”) in neurological disease. His research follows a “bench-to-bedside” approach, transforming scientific discoveries into a new category of medicines targeting glial cells, which he drives through the recently founded Institute for Glial Sciences at the School of Medicine. 

“I’m deeply grateful to Bob Pavey and his family for their vision and support,” Tesar said. “This professorship enables us to accelerate discoveries in glial biology and translate them into new, urgently needed therapies for neurological diseases. It gives us the flexibility to pursue bold ideas, build new collaborations and train the next generation of scientists focused on solving some of the most urgent challenges in medicine.”

That long-term vision—combining scientific ambition with the freedom to pursue it—is central to why Pavey chose to invest in Tesar’s work with an eminent professorship, which expands resources beyond the university’s endowed professorship level.

“Brain diseases are among the most important challenges in medicine today,” Pavey said. “At Case Western Reserve, and in Cleveland, we are fortunate to have on our faculty Dr Paul Tesar, a world leader in addressing these challenges.”

The Pavey Family Eminent Professorship is intended to provide sustained, flexible support to pursue high-risk, high-reward research, build collaborations and accelerate innovation—recognizing that the most consequential advances often require long-term commitment.

“The most important things don’t happen overnight,” Pavey said. “If you can look ahead and support the right people at the right time, you can help make progress on problems that truly matter—to the university, to the community and to the world.”