Cupid at CWRU + News + Upcoming Events

Cupid at CWRU

Happy Valentine's Day from The Alumni Association and the Office of Annual Giving!

Love is all around - and the campus of Case Western Reserve University is no exception. The following couples are just a few former students who found books and second looks while here.

image of Laura and Anand Swaminathan

Laura (CWR '99) and Anand (MGT '97, MGT '99) Swaminathan met during residence life staff training while standing in line for their vegetarian boxed lunches. Less than a month later, Laura had her first Indian meal when the couple shared their first date at the Saffron Patch restaurant. And, at a residence life event, Laura savored the chance to throw a pie in Anand's face (this picture catches her in the act). 

Today, Anand and Laura remain close to CWRU community. In addition to making annual donations to CWRU School of Medicine and Weatherhead School of Management, Laura has volunteered to interview prospective students and Anand regularly visits campus as a guest lecturer. 

Currently living in San Francisco, the couple spends their spare time to pursuing their passion for heli-skiing.

image of Denise and Greg Young

Denise (WRC '78) and Greg Young (WRC '77) met during their first-year at CWRU and quickly became close friends. Their favorite CWRU memories include long walks to local restaurants and long talks in the Thwing Center Rug Room. On one cold January evening, as they walked to a CWRU basketball game, Greg traded coats with Denise - offering her his warmer varsity football jacket. While it could have been an embarrassing moment when a few of his teammates saw him wearing a coat that was too small, all that mattered was the person walking beside him.

Eventually, their friendship developed into a lifelong love. As they prepare to celebrate their 39th wedding anniversary, they are enjoying retirement, their three children and their five-year-old grandson. 

image of Sarah and Myles Nickolich

Sarah (CWR '09, MED '13) and Myles (CWR '09, MED '13) Nickolich
Sarah and Myles both lived in Smith House during their first year and, during orientation, sat next to each other during the dorm's movie night. It was this chance meeting that lead to many happy CWRU memories, but their favorite is their wedding at Amasa Stone Chapel.

Currently living in Durham, N.C., Myles is in fellowship for hematology/oncology at Duke University Hospital and Sarah is chief resident at the University of North Carolina Department of Family Medicine. Their first child, a son named Joseph, arrived in June 2016. 


A Cause That We Love...

image of kids

Leveraging CWRU’s resources to cure today’s childhood diseases tomorrow, the Research Institute for Children's Health, a group comprised of CWRU alumni, faculty and friends, is the new frontline in fast-tracking cures for childhood genetic diseases. 

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) made headlines when the Ice Bucket Challenge created a much-needed windfall of funds to fight a debilitating and deadly disease that affects approximately 30,000 people in the United States. The campaign educated the public about how a devastating disease can be overlooked when it does not affect a large group of people.

Sadly, there are many children suffering from similarly uncommon, but devastating diseases. Because these diseases affect a relatively small number of the population, they receive less funding to find treatments and cures.

CWRU is leading an effort to give hope to these children: the Research Institute for Children’s Health was launched to accelerate therapeutic development for rare diseases. A therapeutics accelerator pipeline utilizes the CWRU School of Medicine’s $100 million shared technologies to rapidly identify and test new drugs as well as those already approved by the FDA. This pipeline approach will facilitate discovery of new treatments in a fraction of the time it took not long ago. Imagine identifying potential cures for these genetic diseases in a few years, or even months, rather than decades! CWRU researchers, led by Mitchell Drumm, PhD, and alumni, like Chris Flask, PhD (CWR '92, GRS '99, chemical engineering, GRS '05, biomedical engineering), are leading the way to make this a reality for many children and their families.

You can help!

Join us in Sonoma County on June 24 for our annual fundraiser, Giving Kids Hope.

To learn more about our programs and follow our progress, visit our homepage or follow us on Facebook.  


Help Us Improve Our Website...

Thought you were done taking tests at CWRU? We would love it if you would take one more! Our new year's resolution is to make our website work better for our alumni. And here's how you can help... Take this test before February 22 and your results will help us improve our site. (P.S. - In this test, there are no wrong answers!)

Take the Test Today


Campus Updates...All the News That's Fit to Link

CWRU showcases student and alumni startups with 10 booths at CES 2017 >

Avoiding spiritual struggles and existential questions is linked with poorer mental health >

Brilliant is beautiful: Students create video series to offer a new view on engineering >

Class searches for the meaning of a “good death” >

Watch highlights of CWRU innovators at CES >

Immune sys “workaround” may explain heart disease in psoriasis patients >

CWRU researchers measure how perovskite solar films efficiently convert light to power >

President Snyder’s welcome to the new semester >

Interactive Commons team displays HoloLens exhibit at World Economic Forum’s 47th annual meeting >

CWRU, CSU partner in new “Internet of Things” collaborative >

Applications to the Class of 2021 top 25,000 >

School of Medicine’s Brian Grimberg receives Fulbright Scholar Award >

5 questions with… Forbes “30 under 30” honoree, MD/PhD candidate Gloria Tavera >


 Catch Us if You Can ... Events on Campus and Around the Country

2.22: Cleveland - South Franklin Circle Dialogues: Making a Difference in Troubled Times

2.23: Cleveland - Judson Manor Roundtable Lecture: Cleveland Institute of Art

2.23: Cleveland - Power of Diversity Lecture Series - A Conversation with Beverly Daniel Tatum, PhD

2.23: Cleveland - Engineers Week Reception: Speaker Janet Kavandi, Director, NASA’s John H. Glenn Research Center

2.24 Chicago - School of Dental Medicine: Chicago 125th Anniversary Reception

3.3: Cleveland - CLE Lecture: 2nd Annual Human Trafficking Law Symposium

3.3: Sandusky, Ohio - School of Dental Medicine: 125th Anniversary Celebration Networking Reception + 1.0 Hour FREE Continuing Education Course 

3.4: Sandusky, Ohio - School of Dental Medicine: 125th Anniversary Celebration Continental Breakfast + 4.0 Hours of FREE Continuing Education Courses

3.4: Sandusky, Ohio - School of Dental Medicine: 125th Anniversary Celebration Family & Friends Lunch

3.6: Cleveland - CLE Lecture: An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back

3.9: Cleveland - CLE Lecture: Making Practical Progress on Human Rights: An Essential Element of Sustainable Business

3.21: Cleveland - Writers Center Stage - Colum McCann and Edna O’Brien

3.22: Cleveland - CLE Lecture: Framework Contracts

3.23: Cleveland - CLE Lecture: Improving IRS Charity Oversight: Responsible Congressional Delegation, Responsive IRS Rulemaking

3.23: Cleveland - Think Forum Series - Henry Louis Gates Jr., PhD, Callahan Distinguished Lecture

3.24: Atlanta - School of Dental Medicine: 125th Anniversary Reception

3.30-31: Cleveland - CLE Lecture: State of Our Nations: Canada-United States Perspectives on Law, Policy and Politics in Tumultuous Times

4.4: Cleveland - Think Forum Series - Jay Famiglietti, Can We Solve the Global Water Crisis?

4.7: Cleveland - CLE Lecture: Legal Challenges in Precision Medicine

4.9: Cleveland - 11th Annual Stephanie Tubbs Jones Gospelfest Concert Celebration

4.19: Cleveland - CLE Lecture: Cross-Cultural Communications: The Key to Negotiating Successful Agreements

4.20: Cleveland - Writers Center Stage - Alison Bechdel

4.22: San Diego - School of Dental Medicine: 125th Anniversary Reception

4.26: Cleveland - School of Dental Medicine: 125th Anniversary Continuing Education Course & Brewery Tour

4.27: New Orleans - School of Dental Medicine: 125th Anniversary Reception

4.29: Cleveland - Hudson Relays

5.3: Cleveland - Writers Center Stage - John Green

5.3: Cleveland - Mini Med School: Orthopaedics: Common Foot and Ankle Problems

5.10: Cleveland - Mini Med School: Reproductive Biology: High Risk Pregnancy, Short and Long Term Effects of Maternal Obesity on the Mother and Her Child

5.17: Cleveland - Mini Med School: Radiation Oncology: Overview of Radiation Oncology Featuring Proton Beam Therapy at UHCMC

5.17: Cleveland - CLE Lecture: Litigating World War II

5.24: Cleveland - Mini Med School: Pediatrics: ADHD Across the Lifespan

5.31: Cleveland - Mini Med School: Medicine: Integrative Oncology and Palliative Care

10.5-10.8: Cleveland - Homecoming

View the University and Alumni Relations Events Calendar for more upcoming events on campus and around the country.