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• 1 2026-05-07T16:42:33+00:00 Kent H. Smith and the Case Quad 14 This page provides information about Kent H. Smith and the Case Quad. plain 2026-05-19T18:27:16+00:00 The Case Quad, the Main Quad -- these are titles given to the area bounded by Crawford Hall, Rockefeller Building, Albert W. Smith Building, Bingham Building, White Building, Olin Laboratory, Nord Hall, Sears Building, Wickenden Building, Tomlinson Hall, and the Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Building (ISEB). The formal name of this space is the Kent H. Smith Quadrangle.
  
  Kent Hale Smith was born 4/9/1894 in Cleveland to Mary and Albert Smith. He graduated from East High School before attending and graduating from Dartmouth College in 1915. He continued his education at Case School of Applied Science, graduating in chemistry in 1917. His father, Albert W. Smith, was a faculty member at Case as well as an alumnus, class of 1887. The Albert W. Smith Chemical Engineering Building was named for him. Kent’s brother, Albert Kelvin, was also a Case graduate, class of 1922. Kelvin Smith Library was named in his honor.
  
  
  Kent Smith was elected to the Case Board of Trustees in 1949, serving until he was named honorary trustee in 1966. He served Case as Acting President from 1958-1961 when President T. Keith Glennan was on leave as first administrator of NASA. He served on numerous committees, such as the Case Alumni Council, Diamond Jubilee Campaign, and Case Building Fund. Mr. Smith received the Case Alumni Meritorious Service Award in 1952, an honorary engineering degree from Case in 1954, and an honorary doctor of law degree from Western Reserve University in 1960. A special dinner was held in his honor in 1961 at which his formal portrait was unveiled.
  
  Mr. Smith was one of the founders of the Lubrizol Corporation and president from 1932-1951. He was a member of the American Chemical Society and served on the boards of Euclid Glenville Hospital, Cleveland Council on World Affairs, Cleveland Trust Company, and the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce.
  
  The quad underwent a complete redesign in the early 1970s. William A. Behnke Associates was retained as landscape architect. There was no parking allowed on the quad. Old Case Main was razed, the Michelson-Morley fountain was installed, and the Tony Smith sculpture, "Spitball," was installed. The entire area was re-landscaped. In 1974, the Quadrangle won the Landscape Design Award of the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Cleveland Growth Association for an educational institution.
  
  
  The Kent Hale Smith Engineering and Science Building was dedicated on 9/16/1994 in his honor. This building is commonly referred to as the Macro building or Macromolecular Science building.
  
  The Case Quad experienced another major renovation from 2022-2023, in which old pavement was replaced with modern walkways, and improved lighting and new seating were installed to create a more "pedestrian-friendly" environment. In August 2023, CWRU announced that the Case Quad would be reserved for pedestrian traffic only going forward, prohibiting recreational devices such as bicycles, skateboards, and scooters. The opening of the ISEB in the fall of 2026 as the newest and largest building on the Case Quad, will be the latest renovation project for this part of campus. 
  
  Sources
  For more information about Kent H. Smith and the Case Quad, see the list of published histories on our CWRU Archives Sources page.  In addition to the published histories, information comes from records in the Case Western Reserve University Archives.