Setting the stage

With Barbara Snyder leaving this fall for new horizons, and the search still underway for her successor, there was a big opening at the top. An experienced administrator has stepped up to fill it.

Scott Cowen, a university trustee and former dean of the Weatherhead School of Management, will serve as interim president beginning October 1. He guided Tulane University through Hurricane Katrina and will now lead CWRU through its transition.

Snyder is leaving the university after 13 years to become president of the American Association of Universities. The board of trustees announced Cowen’s appointment in June.

“Scott has provided wise counsel and insight throughout my time at Case Western Reserve,” Snyder said in a statement. “I know he will be an outstanding leader for the university during this time of transition, and I deeply appreciate his willingness to serve as interim president.”

Cowen led Tulane for 16 years. His tenure included Hurricane Katrina’s devastation of the university and New Orleans in 2005, after which he emerged as a leader of the recovery. Before Tulane, he worked for 23 years at the Weatherhead School, serving 14 years as dean.

“I am honored to return to Case Western Reserve, a place that played an enormous role in my professional and personal life,” Cowen said in a statement. “Barbara has transformed the university during her tenure, and I will work to continue that momentum until the arrival of its next permanent leader.”