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An open letter to my fellow alumni:
I’m writing to ask that we end the Great Name Debate that has been dragging out for almost 40 years at the institution known today as Case Western Reserve University.
Let’s end this nonsense.
Name the school Case.
I respect the memories of people who went to one of the schools that now make up the larger University. My experiences at the University span 16 years and four degrees. I was able to enjoy this educational experience thanks to the creativity and hard work of those who came before me, people who include my aunt, uncles, grandfather and teachers in high school. While times change and names fade from collective memory, it does not mean we forget that the University was not always “CWRU” or that we lose respect for earlier contributions.
It is in this spirit that that I participated in the University. My own “legacy” (i.e. what I do and what I contribute) is inspired by others I met through the school. I realize that my own contributions will be small, compared to the aggregate accomplishment of the University as a whole. Either way, all contributions are meaningful.
What is most important, however, is not to compare ‘contribution size’ but to understand what the word ‘legacy’ really means.
There are generations of students to teach, countless discoveries to be made and great glories to pursue. Focusing on the name of the school is distracts us from these important things that the school needs to accomplish. Our legacy is our contribution to the future, not a memorial to the past.
I am sure that there are alumni who are unhappy with ‚ÄúCase‚Äù as a potential name and will refuse to contribute to the school should it be renamed as such. I would suggest that these alumni are more concerned with egotistical monuments to their ‘greatness’ than with any real issue confronting the future of the University.
Let them build their monuments. Let us build the future. Let’s agree to use use the name “Case” as a shorthand for all of the good things that happen in the University we have shared. Case is the most recognizable. Case is the most marketable.
4 Comments
I’ll preface my comments by saying that I have no real “alumni” feelings from my years at Case/CWRU, and therefore don’t really care now what they decide to officially call the school.
That being said, have you considered that your willingness to toss the old name is based on the fact that you were, for all intents and purposes, a “Case” student?
Perhaps things are different now, but during my four (or thereabouts) years, there was definitely a caste system of sorts, with the engineering, science, and business departments being the main focus, while the liberal arts schools got short shrift. For those of us who were not engineers, it was a non-stop parade of watching Case students get fancy new buildings, labs, and programs. Meanwhile, English, Philosophy, Modern Languages, and Religion were all were crammed into creaky old Guilford, and had to share one semi-functional copier.
Obviously, the engineering, science, and business programs generate more income for the university, and constitute the majority of the student body. Nonetheless, the inclusion of “Western Reserve” in the school’s name serves as a reminder that there are, in fact, other student there as well. The blithe dismissal of that portion of the name is just one more reminder that the non-engineering portions of the school don’t matter to the majority.
Pete, I agree that the humanities at the school are not treated well.
One of the reasons I’m able to write for this site are a number of professors, especially in the Religion department, who took time to read the rambling crap of my undergraduate self and then showed me how to write better, to think critically about ’soft’ problems, and to respect the opinions of others.
For me, I never saw the school as “Case”. I saw it as CWRU, which might reflect the fact that I finished my engineering degree out of duty rather than interest. I’ve never used it a day in my life, after all.
And I don’t suggest we simply shrug off the contributions of the Western Reserve (which seems to be code for “non-engineering” by most alumni) school. I just don’t see why keeping this amazingly-long name in place is important if the names are otherwise preserved.
I’ve been working at Case for 6 years (during which time I earned an MA) but I was never an undergrad, so I don’t really understand the tension. However, if the alumni are mad (one of the things always brought up when Case’s current financial situation is discussed), that’s an issue to me, someone currently suffering under the salary freeze. (But I think that may just be a scapegoat for the financial woes.)
When they started this branding thing, most people I worked with thought it was stupid, especially the portly man with surfboard/broken screen door/broken tennis racket symbol. They sent out an email telling us to get rid of our old stationary and use the new stuff, use “Case” in all communications, and no one I know did it.
My email signature still says, “Case Western Reserve University” and when I apply for my PhD out of state, it will definitely not say my MA was earned at “Case.” It sounds too casual and no one will recognize it.
I assume you got sent the branding survey request, too!
Yep! This whole thing was inspired by the branding survey.
I’ll agree that “Case” sounds too casual unless it’s “Case University”, but it’s not. It’s still the full name and that’s what goes on my resumes, too.
I think there is a benefit to having a name that is easier to market, but I’ll grant that the name wouldn’t matter if the University simply got it’s act together and started getting the name into the papers other ways…like getting Weatherhead back into the top-50 business schools, enhancing and publicizing the partnerships and projects going on between the medical school & the mega-hospitals, and so on.
If the reputation is great, it would have to be an amazingly awful name to hurt the school. It’s not an awful name, today, but this branding nonsense is distracting from issues of substance that build reputation.