The foundation’s 1924 survey of higher education, undertaken at the behest of Cleveland’s premier liberal arts institution, Western Reserve University, and its outstanding engineering school, the Case School of Applied Science, concluded that the two institutions should be merged into a municipal university to rival those in New York, Boston and Chicago. Because of alumni pride in the independence of their alma maters, the two schools deferred federation until 1967.

To signal its continuing strong support for the union, the Cleveland Foundation awarded its first-ever $1 million grant in 1971 to Case Western Reserve University (CWRU). Teamed with a matching grant from an anonymous donor, these critical discretionary funds enabled CWRU to complete its transition into a modern research university. No city can be globally competitive without one.