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Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals of Cleveland
have received a $25 million gift from Iris S. and Bert L. Wolstein
to name the new research building jointly owned and operated by
the two institutions. The facility will be named the Iris S. and
Bert L. Wolstein Research Building. Bert Wolstein is the founder
of Developers Diversified Realty Corp. and of the Heritage Development
Co., which builds shopping centers, hotels, restaurants, and golf
courses. He is a nationally renowned leader in the development
industry.
In a joint statement announcing the gift, Edward M. Hundert,
M.D., president of CWRU, and Fred C. Rothstein, M.D., acting president
and CEO of University Hospitals Health System said, "We are deeply
grateful to Iris and Bert Wolstein for their extraordinary gift.
It sends a clear message about the strength of the CWRU-UHHS partnership.
It sends a clear message that we are creating one of the nation's
top academic medical centers. And it sends a clear message about
the vibrant future of Cleveland as a center for pioneering biomedical
research."
UHHS and CWRU last month announced a 50-year partnership to promote
innovative biomedical education, research and clinical care as
the nucleus around which to bring together available resources
to develop one of the top academic medical centers in the world.
The partnership includes joint ownership and operation of a new
research building currently under construction on Cornell Road
and Circle Drive. It is scheduled for completion later this year.
Under the partnership, the structure was temporarily named the
UHHS-CWRU Partnership Research Building. It will be renamed for
the Wolsteins.
"Iris and I are thrilled to see these two Cleveland institutions
working together in a partnership that will have national and
international impact," said Bert L. Wolstein. "We have always
been supportive of innovative educational and health care initiatives.
This research building brings together both worlds, with scientists
and physicians working side by side to spur new discoveries. Iris,
who has been a significant partner in all of our business and
philanthropic activities, and I believe this is an important legacy
for the Wolstein name to be attached to a place where great things
will be accomplished and where our support will, perhaps, help
to improve quality of life and save lives."
Henry L. Meyer III, chairman of the Board of Directors of UHHS,
and Charles P. Bolton, chairman of the CWRU Board of Trustees,
said, "The Wolstein's visionary gift provides significant financial
support to our research enterprise, which will benefit all humanity
for generations to come. We are extremely grateful for the bold
example they are setting for our community."
Wolstein's relationship with University Hospitals of Cleveland
has been mostly a personal one. He credits several UHC physicians
with helping him overcome some serious medical problems, including
prostate cancer. More than a decade ago, he forged a partnership
between UHC's Department of Orthopedics and the Cleveland Force,
Cleveland's first professional indoor soccer team which Wolstein
owned. Today, though Wolstein no longer owns the team, UHC is
the official health care sponsor of the new Cleveland Force.
This is not the only building which will carry the Wolstein name
at CWRU. Last August, the Wolstein's provided a gift of $2.5 million
to the Weatherhead School of Management at CWRU. They designated
$1 million dollars of that gift for the renovation of Sycamore
Hall on Bellflower Road. The facility was renamed Iris S. and
Bert L.Wolstein Hall. The remaining $1.5 million was designated
to establish the Iris S.Wolstein Professorship in Management Design.
Iris S. and Bert L. Wolstein Research Building Facts:
- 320,000 gross square feet
- 6 stories tall with 2 below grade
- capacity for 900 research investigators at wet-lab benches
- 180-seat auditorium and meeting rooms to accommodate up to
60 people each
- 28,000-cage mouse-house facility
- Designed by van Dijk Westlake Reed Leskosky Architects
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