Walter G. Freedman

Walter Freedman and his wife, Karen Harrison, created The Freedman Student Fellowship Program in Digital Scholarship, one of the first in the nation funded by private donations to provide direct grants and employment to students who engage in digital scholarship.   The motivation for the gift came from the involvement of his father, Sam, in microfilm, record retention and preservation.  At the time, this was the most significant technological development to affect the scholarly community since the invention of the printing press. 

Walter’s parents, Samuel B. and Marian K, were graduates of two Colleges that were predecessors to Case Western Reserve University, she with a bachelor’s degree in English from Flora Stone Mather College and he with a bachelor’s degree in economics from Adelbert College, both in 1937.

In 2005 the family established the Samuel B. and Marian K. Freedman Center for Digital Scholarship at the Kelvin Smith Library. The Freedman Center harnesses the power of modern technology and combines it with the drivers of academic creativity so that new and emerging technologies combine with traditional information formats. 

Walter is currently with LaSalle Capital in Chicago in portfolio management. He had previously been the Chief Operating Officer of Wheels, Inc. where he led a diversification strategy and the purchase of IVI Travel, of which he became CEO. Before leading the turnaround of IVI and orchestrating its sale, Walter was a co-investor and CEO of Yoplait USA, where he led its sale to General Mills. Prior to joining Yoplait, Walter was President of the Fuller Brush Company, a Sara Lee subsidiary. While with Sara Lee he was Vice President of Corporate Development and MIS Director at Kitchens of Sara Lee. He began his career with IBM as a computer sales representative.

Walter holds a BA from Dartmouth College and an MBA from the Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth. 

Walter and Karen live in Chicago and have four children, Debora Clower, Amy Jurkowitz, Michael Freedman and Douglas Freedman. Their generosity and wish to honor their father made Walter’s Corner possible.