This page was created by Christine Liebson. The last update was by Helen Conger.
The Schools of CWRU
"The very fact that Western Reserve does not run true to the common patterns prevalent in the country makes it difficult to explain our organization easily to others." - Winfred George Leutner
In spite of the complexities, which have only increased since President Leutner's 1938 comment, the staff of the Archives has compiled this summary of the schools and colleges of Case Western Reserve University and its predecessors. Included are the dates each was established and terminated and their names. A similar summary has been made of the legal entities, the Corporations of CWRU.[link]
Selecting "birth and death" dates of schools is one of the complexities. Several schools began life as a single course, evolving into a department and later a separate school. Others originated as independent institutions, only later becoming schools of the University. Some ceased to exist as separate schools but remained as departments. Another complexity is changing terminology. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the terms school and department were often used interchangeably in the University.
The dates used in the accompanying diagram reflect the school's existence as an entity separate from other schools within the University.
Undergraduate Schools of CWRU
[image file]Graduate and Professional Schools of CWRU
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1826 - Western Reserve College established.
1843 - Cleveland Medical College established.
1844 - Cleveland Medical College renamed the Medical Department of Western Reserve College.
1880 - Case School of Applied Science established.
1882 - Western Reserve College renamed Adelbert College of Western Reserve University.
1888 :
- College for Women established by WRU.
- Cleveland Conservatory of Music affiliated with WRU.
1871 Cleveland Conservatory of Music was established. - Western Reserve School of Design for Women affiliated with WRU and renamed School of Art.
1882 Western Reserve School of Design for Women was established.
- School of Law established by WRU.
- School of Art affiliation with WRU ended.
- Dental Department established by WRU.
- Department of Graduate Instruction established by WRU.
- School of Law renamed Franklin Thomas Backus Law School of Western Reserve University.
1903 : Library School established by WRU.
1906 : Dental School sold to Western Reserve Dental School Company, a for-profit corporation. Degrees continued to be conferred by WRU.
1908 : Cleveland School of Pharmacy affiliated with WRU.
1882 Cleveland School of Pharmacy was established by the Cleveland Pharmaceutical Association.
1910 : Medical Department of WRU absorbed the Medical Department of Ohio Wesleyan University. The Medical Department of Ohio Wesleyan
University (1896-1910) was the successor school of several rival Cleveland-based medical schools, including the Charity Hospital Medical
College (1865-1869) and the Medical Department of the University of Wooster (1869-1896).
1913 : Medical Department of WRU renamed the School of Medicine of WRU.
1915 : School of Applied Social Sciences established by WRU.
1917 :
- Cleveland School of Pharmacy renamed the Cleveland School of Pharmacy of Western Reserve University.
- Dental School re-purchased by Western Reserve University.
1923 : School of Nursing established by WRU.
1921 Nursing Education Department was established in the College for Women.
1924 :
- Library School renamed School of Library Science.
- Dental School renamed School of Dentistry.
- School of Nursing absorbed the schools of Nursing at Lakeside Hospital, Maternity Hospital, and Babies Hospital and Dispensary.
1898 Lakeside School for Nurses was established.
Establishment dates of the Maternity Hospital and Babies Hospital and the Dispensary Nursing schools are not known.
1926:
- Cleveland College renamed Cleveland College of Western Reserve University Affiliated with Case School of Applied Science.
- Graduate School re-established by WRU.
1874 Cleveland Normal Training School was established by the Cleveland Board of Education. In 1919, the Cleveland Normal Training School was renamed the Cleveland School of Education.
1915 A joint summer program between WRU and the Cleveland School of Education was established and renamed in 1920 the Senior Teacher's College of Western Reserve University and the Cleveland School of Education.
1916 Education Department was established in the College for Women.
1927 Department of Nursery-Kindergarten-Primary Training was established by WRU after the program was transferred by the Cleveland Day Nursery and Free Kindergarten Association of Cleveland.