headshot of CWRU President Barbara R. Snyder
President Emerita Barbara R. Snyder

Carnegie Corp. names President Snyder a 2017 academic leader

The Carnegie Corporation of New York today named Case Western Reserve University President Barbara R. Snyder a recipient of its 2017 Academic Leadership Award.

The honor recognizes college and university presidents for their vision and a commitment to excellence across multiple areas, among them undergraduate excellence, international engagement and the development of interdisciplinary programs.

Conferred every other year, the award comes with $500,000 for the recipient to dedicate to academic initiatives on campus.

“I am deeply humbled by this honor for our university,” President Snyder said. “It reflects national recognition of the exceptional efforts and accomplishments of our campus community. I am profoundly grateful to everyone who made this achievement possible, and look forward to building on our progress.”

President Snyder is one of seven academic leaders to receive the award this year, and joins 20 others recognized since the establishment of the award in 2005. Current trustee Scott Cowen, who served as Tulane University’s president for 16 years, received the honor in 2009. Other recipients include leaders of Stanford University, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Chicago—as well as Miami Dade College and the City University of New York.

“There are more than 4,000 colleges and universities in the United States, which play a fundamental role in educating the next generation of our workforce, leaders, and citizens,” Carnegie Corp. President Vartan Gregorian said. “Our higher education institutions are central to the future of our nation.”

When President Snyder came to Case Western Reserve in 2007, she arrived as the institution’s fifth leader in the previous six years and faced a nearly $20 million deficit. During her first year, the university erased its deficit, completed its first strategic plan in nearly two decades, and reached what was then the university’s third-highest fundraising total in its history.

Since that time, the university has become more than twice as selective in undergraduate admissions, completed or began more than 90 endowed professorships, and raised more than $210 million for scholarships and other student support. In addition, the university opened the 82,000-square-foot Tinkham Veale University Center, the Larry Sears and Sally Zlotnick Sears think[box] innovation hub in the Richey Mixon Building, and The Milton and Tamar Maltz Performing Arts Center at The Temple – Tifereth Israel.

In 2019, students from the university’s medical, dental and nursing schools will move into the 485,000-square-foot Health Education Campus, a joint effort with Cleveland Clinic designed to dramatically advance interprofessional education and broadly enhance learning through use of Microsoft HoloLens. The university and hospital partnered with Microsoft before release of its mixed-reality device to develop academic and health care applications.

The other recipients of this year’s Carnegie award are:

  • Joseph E. Aoun: President, Northeastern University; Boston, Massachusetts
  • Mark P. Becker: President, Georgia State University; Atlanta, Georgia
  • John J. DeGioia: President, Georgetown University; Washington, D.C.
  • Nariman Farvardin: President, Stevens Institute of Technology; Hoboken, New Jersey
  • Maria Klawe: President, Harvey Mudd College; Claremont, California
  • DeRionne Pollard: President, Montgomery College; Rockville, Maryland