Most on campus know that Case Western Reserve University was formed from the federation of Western Reserve University and Case Institute of Technology in 1967. But how much do you know about those institutions and the others that are part of CWRU’s history? Throughout May, we will give a brief overview of the institutions that comprise what is now Case Western Reserve University.
The Flora Stone Mather College for Women, known as just the College for Women until 1931, was established in 1888 as a branch of Western Reserve University designated for women’s education.
The college’s campus should be familiar to all Case Western Reserve community members: Mather Quad’s seven buildings (Mather Memorial Building, Clark Hall, Harkness Chapel, Haydn Hall, Mather House, Mather Dance Center and Guilford House) were built in the late 1800s and early 1900s to house the College for Women.
Students of the college used many of the same facilities and had many of the same professors as their counterparts at Adelbert College, the men’s branch of WRU. The college included programs in education, nursing, English, several foreign languages, physical sciences, history and Christian studies for much of its history.
The college graduated its last class in 1972. The following year, the institution was absorbed into Western Reserve College, a new division of Case Western Reserve University, along with Adelbert and Cleveland Colleges.
The Flora Stone Mather Alumnae Association was an active fundraising and networking organization of alumni from 1894 to its final meeting in 2008. The college’s legacy continues with the Flora Stone Mather Center for Women, which was established with a donation from the alumnae association.
Read more about the university’s history at case.edu/about/history.html and follow The Daily throughout May to learn more about the other institutions that helped shape Case Western Reserve into the strong institution it is today.