Contact: Anne Bloomberg, 216-822-4548, Ameritech, or
Ellen Machan, 216-368-6023, Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University

Posted 10/8/97

AMERITECH PROMOTES REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WITH $1 MILLION GRANT TO CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY

Grant supports local and international initiatives of the Weatherhead School of Management

CLEVELAND -- A $1 million Ameritech grant will underwrite a comprehensive economic development program to benefit the Northeast Ohio region. The Ameritech Economic Development Program at Case Western Reserve University's Weatherhead School of Management links regional enterprise development, economic information analysis and dissemination with applied learning technologies.

"Case Western Reserve University and its extraordinary Weatherhead School of Management is an anchor of economic development in Ohio," said Richard C. Notebaert, Ameritech chairman and CEO. "This is why Ameritech was eager to lend not only financial support, but also human resources and technology to help the University in fostering economic growth in Northeast Ohio and around the world."

CWRU President Agnar Pytte expressed the University's gratitude for Ameritech's continued support. "All of us at Case Western Reserve University are honored by this grant to establish the Ameritech Economic Development Program at the Weatherhead School of Management," he said. "This program not only represents the continuation of an exemplary partnership between our institutions, but also demonstrates how university/industry collaboration can bring significant benefits to the community."

The four-part undertaking is composed of the following elements:

• Northeast Ohio Regional Economic Development Forum: This annual event will focus on issues of significance to the Northeast Ohio region. Targeted forum participants include senior business executives, government officials, civic leaders, directors of area foundations, and other economic decision-makers. Since this is a four-year grant, a forum will be held each of the four years and will focus on such themes as technology, entrepreneurship, labor force and metropolitan growth. In addition to a keynote address by a nationally recognized expert on the forum's theme, participants will receive information on economic trends and research findings from the Center for Regional Economic Issues at CWRU.
• Distance learning through communication technology: Regardless of geographic locations, today's organizations compete in a worldwide economic environment, and their leaders must be prepared to manage in a global marketplace. Future managers in this region need exposure to the realities of business practice in other areas of the world. Existing formal academic program partnerships -- which Weatherhead has established with the International Management Center in Budapest and the Japan Productivity Center for Socioeconomic Development in Tokyo -- can be expanded through application of distance learning technology as well as exposure to practicing managers at key sites throughout the areas served by Ameritech, including the Great Lakes region as well as Eastern Europe.
• Weatherhead 100 Recognition Program: Established in 1989, this annual program publicly recognizes the fastest-growing Northeast Ohio businesses at a celebration dinner and ceremony. Designation as a "Weatherhead 100 Company" has become a much-sought-after and coveted distinction among area businesses. Winning firms publicize their receipt of this honor through advertising and promotional activities.
• Invention for Regional Advantage Publication Series: This annual publication will provide widespread dissemination of the information, analysis, and perspective gained through the Center for Regional Economic Issues' program on Science and Technology Policy. This high-quality publication will be distributed among corporations, R&D institutions, venture capital firms, universities, government agencies, and the media nationwide. It will draw significant attention to the key role of science and technology policy in economic development as well as to the importance of university/industry partnerships.

"This program is a prime example of synergy between our company and a fine educational institution through which we both utilize common agendas to benefit our community, its residents, and its workforce," said Jacqueline F. Woods, president of Ameritech Ohio. "We are pleased to continue our relationship with the Weatherhead School of Management of Case Western Reserve University through this substantial grant."

Scott S. Cowen, dean and the Albert J. Weatherhead III Professor of Management at the Weatherhead School, noted that "Ameritech's 10-year investment in our Center for Regional Economic Issues has added tremendous value to the Weatherhead School and strengthened our capacity to contribute to the economic development of our region. We look forward to building our partnership with Ameritech and extending its benefits to metropolitan areas throughout the Great Lakes as well as overseas."

The Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University has achieved an international reputation for innovation and excellence in management education. Since granting its first business degree in 1930, the Weatherhead School's spirit of innovation has been the driving force that has elevated the University's management programs to international prominence. The school's status is reflected in its many citations by business media. For example, Business Week's Guide to the Best B-Schools recognized the Weatherhead School as "one of the most innovative business schools in the world."

xx307@po.cwru.edu -- About this server -- Copyright 1994-2001 CWRU -- Unauthorized use prohibited