The Observer, August 31, 2007
Volume XL, Issue 1
Case welcomes first female president
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Returning students will see a lot of new faces on campus this fall, from the incoming freshman class to new faculty members, but the most important face is that of Case's new president, Barbara Snyder.
Snyder comes to Case from The Ohio State University, where she was a professor in the Moritz College of Law. She officially took office on July 1 and was invested at Convocation on Wednesday.
Snyder finished up at Ohio State in June, but she started her work at Case even before that. After being selected as Case's new president, she started keeping up with the Plain Dealer to get a feel for the Cleveland atmosphere. She also visited Case, attending commencement and taking a tour of the campus with then-USG president Neil Ursic and current USG president Adam Rupe.
Over the summer, Snyder took the opportunity to meet with the different colleges within the university, getting to know the faculty, staff, and students in the various departments.
"I'm reconnecting with the people I knew before and the places I knew before," said Snyder, citing Little Italy as a favorite destination.
The last time she was on campus, Snyder was an associate professor in the Case School of Law, and she sees improvement in the Case and Cleveland areas. She appreciates the current trend of interdisciplinary research and collaboration with Cleveland entities: "I think the sense of community is stronger now than it was in 1988."
Snyder replaces interim president Gregory Eastwood, who is returning to the Board of Trustees and is the director of the new Inamori International Center for Ethics and Excellence. Eastwood has full confidence in Snyder's abilities to take over the lead.
"I have a sort of theory about leadership in institutions," said Eastwood. "Each university or institution needs different kinds of people at different times. She is exactly the right person for Case Western Reserve University at this time."
Snyder is taking the examples of her predecessors to heart and plans to make sure that decisions which affect the university as a whole are made with the help of all of the university's constituents. "Case's strategic plan should not be mine, it should be ours," said Snyder. "I want to have that plan owned by the community, not just the president. Collective ownership is critical to success."
"Plans for the university are not only for the president," said Eastwood. "Even a president that lasts for a long time is temporary, but the university is permanent."
One of her main goals for the year is to set plans for the budget, which she acknowledges has had its issues. "It's clear that we need to return to financial health," said Snyder. "To do that we will need to do more than just balance the budget." Snyder hopes to plan strategic investment reserves to aid the process of fixing the university's finances.
Another issue Snyder hopes to work on is the erosion of trust that has happened over the past few years. "It is our collective responsibility to earn that trust again, and I plan to work on it every day."
As to her personal goals, Snyder plans to spend a lot of time listening. "I will be meeting with groups so that they can ask me questions and especially tell me things they think I need to know."
She also understands the importance of listening to the students on campus. According to Lara Kalafatis, Vice President for University Relations, Snyder will be working with the Share the Vision committee as well as the Office of Student Affairs to get a handle on the overall student experience.
"I think she's going to work well with the student body," said Rupe. "She seems down-to-earth and really pleasant. It feels like you can just go up and talk to her."
Snyder got some hands-on experience with students this summer, attending all four orientation sessions and helping out with a rainy move-in for the fourth session.
"I genuinely enjoy talking with students," said Snyder. "That was a reason I wanted to stay on the university campus."
