Dean Cyrus C. Taylor. Photo by Daniel Milner.

Here at Case Western Reserve, we have had a very lively spring. The campus was filled with visitors—thousands of prospective students and their families. During our open house events, we made sure that everyone interested in the College of Arts and Sciences had the chance to speak with members of our faculty, who conveyed their enthusiasm for the exciting work that goes on here. I am delighted to say that these one-on-one interactions, in concert with our other recruitment efforts, yielded exactly the results we had hoped for.

This year we had the privilege of selecting students from the largest and most qualified applicant pool in our history. We are getting the word out about the outstanding educational opportunities the university has to offer. As a result, Case Western Reserve has become very attractive to many of the nation’s most talented undergraduates.

For me, it was a special privilege to speak with students and their families this spring. I emphasized that in the College of Arts and Sciences, research and education are complementary endeavors, not competing ones. I noted that members of our faculty receive a disproportionate share of the university’s awards for teaching and mentoring, and that students in every department are flourishing under their guidance.

This issue of art/sci proves my point. In our feature stories, you will meet faculty members in music, mathematics and dance who share an extraordinary commitment to working with students and promoting their success.

Great teachers live on the memories and achievements of their students. I was reminded of this after we published, in our last issue, a profile of Frank Ryan, who joined the mathematics faculty at Case Institute of Technology in 1967 while playing as a star quarterback for the Cleveland Browns. It was wonderful to hear from alumni who had studied with Ryan and who remembered his courses so vividly.

Joseph N. Craig (CIT ’69) recalled that whatever injuries Ryan sustained during a Sunday afternoon game, he always arrived to teach his class early Monday morning. His students benefited from his dedication. “In my advanced studies in physics,” Craig wrote, “the complex variable theory that I learned while at Case helped me with the even more difficult and complex math to come.”

I know that other alumni have stories to tell about teachers who helped you move forward and quite possibly changed your lives. Please share those stories with us by writing to artsci@cwru.edu. I trust that all of you share my pride in the remarkable faculty and students who are building on the college’s traditions of excellence.

Cyrus C. Taylor

Dean and Albert A. Michelson Professor in Physics