About President Kaler

Eric W. Kaler is the 11th president of Case Western Reserve University. He joined Case Western Reserve on July 1, 2021 from the University of Minnesota, where he served as president from 2011-2019 and professor of chemical engineering and materials science from 2011-2021.

An accomplished chemical engineer and visionary university leader, President Kaler’s career in higher education spans more than 40 years and includes leadership and faculty roles at premier public research universities. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and was elected as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences for both his leadership in engineering and in higher education.

President Kaler has significant expertise in elevating research, expanding fundraising, forming collaborative partnerships, encouraging entrepreneurship and advocating for access to education for all.

University Priorities

The university embraces its core values, each of which guides President Kaler’s three priorities—to elevate academic excellence, expand the university’s research enterprise and enhance community engagement and impact.

Under President Kaler’s leadership, CWRU has: 

• Grown undergraduate and total enrollment to approximately 6,300 undergraduate students (with an average first-year class size of 1,550) and nearly 12,300 students overall in fall 2023;
• Increased annual research expenditures from about $400 million in 2021 to $554 million in fiscal year 2023; 
• Begun construction on the Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Building (ISEB), a nearly 200,000-square-foot, $300 million research building located on the Case Quad that will be dedicated to interdisciplinary discovery and collaboration. The ISEB is expected to be completed in 2026, just in time for the bicentennial celebration of the founding of Western Reserve University. 
• Committed to hiring 100 net new tenured and tenure-track faculty by 2028, a 15-percent increase for the university.
• Expanded scholarship opportunities for graduates of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District and East Cleveland high schools through the Cleveland Scholars program.
• Strengthened partnerships and connections with community members through the creation of a Neighborhood Advisory Council, expansion of Pre-College Programs, and the renovation of a vacant, historic property into the Wade Park Community Engagement Center, which opened in fall 2024.
• Won its first-ever NCAA Division III national team championship with Men’s Tennis in 2023.

Experience, Memberships and Education

President Kaler began his career in higher education as a research and teaching assistant at the University of Minnesota, where he earned his PhD in chemical engineering in 1982. He then joined the faculty at the University of Washington, where he was an assistant professor and associate professor of chemical engineering from 1982-1989. 

His first leadership positions followed at the University of Delaware, which he joined as an associate professor in 1989. He was promoted to professor in 1991 and appointed the Elizabeth Inez Kelley Professor in 1998. He also served as the chair of the chemical engineering department from 1996-2000 and dean of the College of Engineering from 2000-2007. He joined Stony Brook University in 2007 as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs and professor of engineering and chemistry. He also served as the university’s vice president for Brookhaven Affairs from 2008-2011.

President Kaler holds 10 patents and has published more than 200 peer-reviewed papers. In addition to election to the National Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, President Kaler is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Chemical Society, the Neutron Scattering Society of America, and he was a member of the inaugural class of the National Academy of Inventors. Currently, he serves on the Board of Directors of the Greater Cleveland Partnership, where he also co-chairs the Innovation and Growth Committee. 

President Kaler earned his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering in 1978 from the California Institute of Technology.

Family

Born in Vermont, President Kaler is a first-generation college graduate. He credits his wife, Karen, as the major contributor to his success. Karen Kaler, a Tennessee native, is well known for her warmth, enthusiasm, and advocacy. The couple have been married since 1979 and have two adult sons, Charlie and Sam, daughters-in-law Lisa and Lizzy, and granddaughters Ophelia and Kit.