For the second time in just over two years, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has supported a Case Western Reserve University collaboration in the humanities—in this instance, with Cuyahoga Community College.
The four-year, $1.55 million grant will catalyze an initiative designed to encourage interest in the humanities among students at Tri-C, and then provide them a well-developed pathway toward a bachelor’s degree at Case Western Reserve.
In 2012, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation provided the university and the Cleveland Museum of Art two grants totaling $500,000. The awards supported the redesign and launch of their joint doctoral program in art history, which dates back to 1967. The conversations involved in creating the new degree catalyzed enormous enthusiasm among participants and the broader community—so much so that, in 2013, Joseph and Nancy Keithley committed $15 million to the two institutions to create The Nancy and Joseph Keithley Institute for Art History.
This new cooperative effort with Tri-C, dubbed the Cleveland Humanities Collaborative, seeks to build on existing academic connections between the two institutions, in particular by nurturing ties among humanities faculty from both campuses and providing students extensive mentoring and advising. Faculty will work together to develop joint programs, such as seminars, workshops and teaching exchanges, and also create a summer bridge program to ease students’ transition from one institution to the next.
“The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and particularly Dr. Mariët Westermann, the foundation’s vice president, have been exceptional partners to Case Western Reserve and Cleveland itself,” University President Barbara R. Snyder said. “We are grateful to them, and to our colleagues at Tri-C, for this opportunity to develop a truly innovative program to advance the humanities.”
Michael Schoop, president of Tri-C’s Metropolitan Campus, warmly welcomed the concept of a formal initiative to draw more students to humanities disciplines and, ultimately, to bachelor’s degrees at Case Western Reserve. The university and Tri-C also are working together on a similar initiative to engage Tri-C students in STEM (Science, Technology Engineering and Mathematics) fields before transferring to Case Western Reserve to complete their undergraduate educations.
In both instances, a longstanding agreement between the two institutions allows Tri-C students to take one course each semester at Case Western Reserve.
“We appreciate the generosity and vision of the Mellon Foundation in its support of the humanities,” said Schoop, whose own doctorate is in English language and literature. “This partnership builds on our longstanding relationship with Case Western Reserve to provide a unique opportunity for students.”
Schoop and College of Arts and Sciences Associate Dean Molly Berger announced the Mellon award and the new program during a National Endowment for the Humanities regional workshop Wednesday on the Case Western Reserve campus.
“The enthusiasm of the faculty involved in developing this program has been inspiring,” said Berger, also an instructor of history. “Everyone brings impressive experience and depth of expertise, as well as a profound commitment to students.”
Berger is leading the project on behalf of Case Western Reserve, along with the College of Arts and Sciences Assistant Dean for Strategic Initiatives Beth Trecasa. Their co-leaders from Tri-C are David Bernatowicz, associate professor of history, and Sonja Siler, assistant professor of political science. They are among more than 20 faculty and administrators from the two institutions designing details of the project.
Leaders hope to begin recruiting the first cohort of Tri-C students this year, and have them take their first Case Western Reserve class as part of their spring 2016 courses. The fall of 2015 will include continued mentoring from faculty at Tri-C, as well as the first events of the new Cleveland Humanities Collaborative. Among the goals of the model is to develop a true sense of intellectual community around the humanities among faculty, staff and students alike.
Both of the institutions already have active humanities programs in their own right. Tri-C, for example, offers Voices from the Village, a faculty-development and student-enrichment program that includes workshops led by renowned scholars. Case Western Reserve, meanwhile, has the Baker-Nord Center for the Humanities, an interdisciplinary center that celebrates the arts and humanities through public events. The center also provides faculty support for research and creative work within the arts and humanities.
Leaders expect the first group of students to transfer from Tri-C to Case Western Reserve in the fall of 2016. A significant part of their experience as juniors and seniors will be intensive research projects. By the end of the grant period in December 2018, the Collaborative hopes to have brought 45 students from Tri-C to Case Western Reserve to pursue a liberal arts education and earn a bachelor’s degree with a major in the humanities.