People

Precious Phillips is invested in Cleveland. It’s her hometown and the place where she launched her nonprofit, Acacia Park Wellness. When deciding to pursue her master’s degree in social work, it just made sense to do it at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences. Now…

Kevin Russell’s path from Peace Corps volunteer in the Kingdom of Tonga to social entrepreneur shows what happens when purpose meets conviction and courage. The result has not only earned Russell Case Western Reserve University Alumni Association's 2025 Young Alumni Award—it's also changed lives,…

Sometimes, mothers truly do know best. Judy Strauss-Schwartz hadn’t considered Case Western Reserve until her mother urged her to visit while touring colleges in the Cleveland area. Upon seeing the campus and meeting current students, she was hooked. Four years later, with her American studies…

After earning his second degree from CWRU, Cleveland native Jeffrey Verespej was surprised to find no local alumni chapter existed. Motivated by a passion for the city and a dedication to service, he helped launch the Cleveland Alumni Chapter in 2011. “There’s an essential link between the…

While he was born in Newark and raised in Red Bank, N.J., Bill Chiego’s career path came to life in Cleveland. He arrived on the Case Western Reserve campus intending to study for a doctorate in Latin American history after receiving a bachelor’s in history at the University of Virginia, thinking a…

Terrence Sejnowski’s remarkable journey—from a curious physics undergraduate at Case Institute of Technology to one of the world’s most influential neuroscientists and AI pioneers—serves as inspiration not only to Spartans everywhere but also to the broader scientific community. Now, the Case…

When J. Alan Diehl arrived at Case Western Reserve University in 2019, the Department of Biochemistry in the School of Medicine was at a crossroads—ready for a renewed sense of purpose and direction. Six years later, under Diehl’s leadership as chair, the department’s faculty headcount has more…

Last month at just 18 years old, Case Western Reserve University student Somesh Saini stood before an international audience in São Paulo, Brazil, to share his groundbreaking research on Chagas disease. A parasitic infection spread by an insect bite, the disease can lead to serious heart…

The students in Case Western Reserve University’s undergraduate Class of 2029 aren’t the only new faces on campus this semester. We also welcomed new faculty members across the university, including at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences and the School of Law.…

The University Program Board (UPB) brings large-scale events such as the Back to School Bash to life each year, with a team of students making it all happen. One such student is Harini Ganapathy, a fourth-year student double-majoring in neuroscience and psychology and vice president of…