Smith Foundation commits $15 million to Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Building at CWRU

The Kelvin & Eleanor Smith Foundation has committed $15 million to support Case Western Reserve University’s Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Building (ISEB), a new research facility designed to advance collaboration and discovery across disciplines. The gift will also establish The Kelvin & Eleanor Smith Foundation Terrace, a prominent outdoor gathering space connecting the building to the university’s Case Quad and broader campus community.

Through the university’s century bond program, the foundation’s commitment will be matched, creating a total impact of $30 million for the project.

Scheduled to open this fall, the 189,000-square-foot ISEB will provide laboratory and collaboration space for approximately 300 researchers. The facility is designed to bring together faculty, students and research teams from across the university to address complex global challenges in areas such as climate science, electrochemistry, sustainable manufacturing, artificial intelligence, robotics and neurotechnology.

“The Smith family legacy runs deep at Case Western Reserve and the lasting impact of the Kelvin & Eleanor Smith Foundation is evident across campus,” said Case Western Reserve University President and Morton L. Mandel Presidential Chair Eric W. Kaler. “For decades, the foundation has prioritized support in and around University Circle, which has enabled its institutions to grow and thrive. We are honored to be among them.”

The gift continues a relationship between the university and the Smith family that spans more than a century, beginning when Albert W. Smith enrolled at Case School of Applied Science in 1885. He later joined the faculty, chaired the chemistry department and helped establish the school’s chemical engineering program in 1913.

All four of Albert’s children, Cara (WRU 1914), Vincent (LAW 1920), Kent (CSAS 1917, HON ‘54) and Kelvin (CSAS 1922, HON ‘54), earned degrees from the university. His three sons went on to co-found Lubrizol Corp., the Northeast Ohio-based, global specialty chemical company. Kent was acting president of Case Institute of Technology from 1958 to 1961, and Kent and Kelvin also served as university trustees and played key roles in the federation of CIT and Western Reserve University in 1967. The family was inducted into the university’s Hudson and Case Society during CWRU’s bicentennial year in 2026.

Over generations, the Smith family and The Kelvin & Eleanor Smith Foundation have supported transformative initiatives across campus, including:

• Kelvin Smith Library,
• The Kelvin & Eleanor Smith Foundation Grand Ballroom in the Tinkham Veale University Center,
• The Lubrizol Foundation and Kent H. Smith and Kelvin Smith Fabrication Floor in the Larry
• Sears and Sally Zlotnick Sears think[box],
• The Lucia Smith Nash Walkway, and
• The Kelvin & Eleanor Smith Foundation Plaza at the Milton and Tamar Maltz Performing Arts
• Center at The Temple-Tifereth Israel.

Today, that partnership continues under the leadership of Ellen Mavec, granddaughter of Kelvin and Eleanor Smith, president of The Kelvin & Eleanor Smith Foundation, emerita trustee of the university and recipient of CWRU’s President’s Award for Visionary Achievement. Her daughter, Vanessa Mavec King (MGT ’19) also serves as a trustee of the foundation.

“Our family’s relationship with Case Western Reserve University spans generations, and we are proud to continue supporting an institution that has long advanced innovation, discovery and opportunity,” Ellen Mavec said. “The Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Building reflects the kind of collaborative, forward-looking research environment that will help shape the future, and we are honored to be a part of it.”

Located on the Case Quad, The Kelvin & Eleanor Smith Foundation Terrace will serve as a new outdoor gathering and event space for students, faculty and visitors. The approximately 2,000-square-foot terrace will span the entrance of the ISEB to the adjacent Wickenden Building, with direct connections to the building’s forum, a central indoor collaboration and study space.

Overlooking the Michelson-Morley Fountain, the terrace is intended to encourage interaction and connection between members of the campus community while linking the university’s scientific legacy to the future of innovation within the ISEB.

The gift builds on a longstanding partnership between the Smith family and Case Western Reserve University while helping shape the next generation of interdisciplinary research, collaboration and innovation on campus.