List of presidents of Case Western Reserve University

Adelbert Hall, location of the university president's office.

The president of Case Western Reserve University is the principal executive office for Case Western Reserve University, located in Cleveland, Ohio. ^[1]

Founded in 1826, Western Reserve College appointed its first president in 1830, Rev. Charles Backus Storrs. With its Presbyterian origins, the school's first eight presidents carried the title Reverend . With roots of being located in the old Connecticut Western Reserve, the college held strong influences from Yale College, with four of its first five presidents—Pierce, Hitchcock, Cutler, and Hayden—being Yale alumni.

Founded in 1880, Case School of Applied Science appointed its first president in 1886, Cady Staley.

In 1967, Case Western Reserve University was created through the federation of Case Institute of Technology and Western Reserve University. Robert W. Morse became the first president of the newly combined university.

List of presidents

Western Reserve College/University

The following ten persons had served as president of Western Reserve College/University from 1830 to 1967: ^[1]

#	Image	Name	Term	Notes
1		Rev. Charles Backus Storrs	1830–June 26, 1833	First president of Western Reserve College [2]
2		Rev. George Edmond Pierce	1834–July 1855	Founded the School of Medicine and constructed the Loomis Observatory [3]
3		Rev. Henry Lawrence Hitchcock	July 1855–June 27, 1871	President during the Civil War [4]
4		Rev. Carroll Cutler	Fall 1871–June 23, 1886	Moved the college to Cleveland and renamed to Western Reserve University [5]
5		Rev. Hiram Collins Haydn	1887–November 1890	[6]
6		Rev. Charles Franklin Thwing	November 1890–November 11, 1921	[7]
7		Rev. James DeLong Williamson	November 11, 1921–June 12, 1923	Acting President [8]
8		Rev. Robert Ernest Vinson	June 13, 1923-December 4, 1933	[9]
–		Winfred George Leutner	December 4, 1933–June 11, 1934	Acting President [10]
9			June 12, 1934-June 30, 1949
10		John Schoff Millis	September 1, 1949–June 30, 1967	[11]

Case School of Applied Science / Institute of Technology

The following five persons had served as president of Case School of Applied Science / Institute of Technology from 1886 to 1967: ^[1]

#	Image	Name	Term	Notes
1		Cady Staley	September 1, 1886-June 5, 1902	First President of Case School of Applied Science [12]
–		Charles Sumner Howe	November 3, 1902-May 31, 1903	Acting President [13]
2			June 1, 1903-Summer 1929
3		William Elgein Wickenden	September 1, 1929–August 31, 1947	[14]
4		Thomas Keith Glennan	September 1, 1947–June 30, 1966	Oversaw name change transition to Case Institute of Technology [15]
5		Robert Warren Morse	September 1, 1966–June 30, 1967	[16]

Case Western Reserve University

The following persons had served as president of Case Western Reserve University since 1967: ^[1]

#	Image	Name	From	To	Notes
1		Robert Warren Morse	September 1, 1967	June 30, 1970	First president of Case Western Reserve University [16]
2		Louis Adelbert Toepfer	September 13, 1970	June 30, 1980	[17]
3		David Vincent Ragone	July 1, 1980	June 30, 1987	[18]
4		Agnar Pytte	July 1, 1987	June 30, 1999	[19]
5		David Henry Auston	July 1, 1999	April 27, 2001	[20]
6		James W. Wagner	May 3, 2001	July 30, 2002	Interim [21]
7		Edward M. Hundert	August 1, 2002	June 2, 2006	[22]
8		Gregory L. Eastwood	June 2, 2006	June 30, 2007	Interim [23] [24]
9		Barbara Rook Snyder	July 1, 2007	September 30, 2020	First female president [25]
10		Scott Cowen	October 1, 2020	June 30, 2021	Interim [26]
11		Eric William Kaler	July 1, 2021	incumbent	[27] [28]

Note: Unlike other academic institutions, Case Western Reserve University includes interim presidents in their official count of presidents. For example, Eric Kaler is consider their 11th president and not their 8th when interim leaders are excluded. ^[29]

See also

• List of Case Western Reserve University people

References

1. "Presidents, 1830-2007". Case Western Reserve University . Archived from the original on November 19, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
2. "Charles B. Storrs". CWRU.
3. "George E. Pierce". CWRU.
4. "Henry L. Hitchcock". CWRU.
5. "Carroll Cutler". CWRU.
6. "Hiram C. Haydn". CWRU.
7. "Charles F. Thwing". CWRU.
8. "James D. Williamson". CWRU.
9. "Robert E. Vinson". CWRU.
10. "Winfred G. Leutner". CWRU.
11. "John S. Millis". CWRU.
12. "Cady Staley". CWRU.
13. "Charles S. Howe". CWRU.
14. "William E. Wickenden". CWRU.
15. "T. Keith Glennan". CWRU.
16. "Robert W. Morse". CWRU.
17. "Louis A. Toepfer". CWRU.
18. "David V. Ragone". CWRU.
19. "Agnar Pytte". CWRU.
20. "David H. Auston". CWRU.
21. "James W. Wagner". CWRU.
22. "Edward M. Hundert". CWRU.
23. Kiefer, Evelyn (April 7, 2006). "Dr. Gregory Eastwood Named Interim President of Case Western Reserve University". Realneo.
24. "Gregory L. Eastwood". CWRU.
25. "President Snyder expresses gratitude for CWRU community, bids farewell; video reflects on her tenure". The Daily. CWRU. September 30, 2020.
26. "Scott Cowen to serve as interim president". The Daily. CWRU. June 15, 2020.
27. "Meet the President". Case Western Reserve University. Archived from the original on October 3, 2022. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
28. "Former University of Minnesota president to lead CWRU". The Daily. CWRU. October 29, 2020.
29. "About President Kaler". CWRU. Archived from the original on February 13, 2025.