Colleges and universities play a big role in the communities they call home. They’re landowners, employers, and hubs for arts and culture, so their financial health impacts more than their campuses. 

That includes Case Western Reserve University. A recent annual report from the private university anchoring Cleveland’s University Circle shows it remains on solid financial ground. 

CWRU collected more revenue in 2023 than it did the previous year. In addition, its endowment – which includes charitable donations and other financial assets – increased 3% last year to $2.26 billion, continuing to make it the largest endowment by far among Northeast Ohio’s colleges and universities. 

“Our financial health is strong,” President Eric Kaler wrote in a note accompanying the annual report. “We just posted our second-highest fundraising year ever. Annual research expenditures are climbing. Importantly, our campus is inclusive and diverse.” 

Here’s a snapshot of finances and accomplishments for CWRU’s most recent fiscal year, July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023.  

CWRU’s endowment tops other colleges and universities in Northeast Ohio

• Endowment hit $2.26 billion. That’s far greater than the endowments of  other local universities and colleges, including the University of Akron ($290.4 million), Kent State University ($174.4 million), and Cleveland State University ($104.7 million), according to 2023 figures compiled by Crain’s Cleveland Business. 
• Operating expenses rose to $1.39 billion in 2023. Operating revenue did, too, hitting $1.4 billion. 
• Its total operating surplus increased to $17 million. 
• Gifts and pledges from private sources hit $183.8 million in 2023. That’s an increase of about 7%, or $12 million, from 2021. The list of gifts include $5 million earmarked towards a new science and engineering building and $2 million from a Wall Street analyst to create a new financial professorship. Plus, CWRU reported its annual day of giving set a new record with 2,824 contributors. 

Diversity at CWRU 

Kaler also highlighted diversity. He said the 6,200 undergraduates and roughly 6,000 graduate and professional students come from 50 states and 96 countries.

Plus, there’s diversity among the degrees offered across the university. Though most – 827 – came from its College of Arts and Sciences, its schools of medicine, engineering, and management were also well represented.

How diverse is CWRU’s community? 

What this report does not mention, though, is a breakdown of the university community by race and/or ethnicity. In fall 2022, nearly a quarter of its 1,110 full-time faculty members, 36% of its nearly 2,900 full-time staff, and 40% of its 12,200 students identified as a minority, according to a separate diversity report.

Those findings get distilled further, too. The numbers shift when looking at a group labeled as “underrepresented minorities,” defined as American citizens and permanent residents identifying as Black, Native American, Hispanic/Latino, or Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander. 

Seven percent of faculty, 23% of staff, and 15% of all students fall into those categories.

CWRU keeps going as an R1  

The university is an “R1” research institution, meaning it is classified as having a very high level of ongoing research work as an institution offering advanced degrees. 

This fiscal year saw a whole host of projects. CWRU researchers collaborated with colleagues at MetroHealth to use artificial intelligence to help improve access to health clinics for people of color. A chemical engineer is helping to make steel “greener” and “cleaner.”  Some of the university’s biomedical research was even highlighted on the TV show “60 Minutes” last March. 

A university’s research activity can be a big deal, in part because projects can draw in prospective students and faculty as well as accompanying federal funding. 

The university brought in more than 1,200 research awards to total more than $389 million in funding. Topping the list is the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Officials there gave $211 million to CWRU via 354 grants. 

Other agencies included the Department of Defense and the National Science Foundation. The most grants – 527 — came in from various unnamed nonprofits, foundations, associations, and societies, per the report. 

CWRU was Northeast Ohio’s only R1 until Kent State received the distinction in 2022. Research is a growing focus at Cleveland State, too, according to President Laura Bloomberg’s State of the University address last fall. 

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