A country’s “Intellectual Infrastructure” is equally if not more important than the better known and more discussed physical infrastructure. The physical infrastructure of roads, bridges, waterways, airports, electrical grids, sewer & potable water systems are critically important to the economic viability of an area. Equally true is the area’s ‘intellectual infrastructure’ is no less critical to the economic stability, growth and success.
It’s easiest to think of the ‘intellectual infrastructure’ as being made up of two pieces. The first piece is the ‘schooling Intellectual Infrastructure’ which is predominately for the young. It refers to our primary, secondary, undergraduate and graduate schools and universities. The importance of schools to the economic success of an area is not a new revelation and has been long researched, discussed and appreciated. Fortunately our Cleveland area forefathers understood this and created some of the oldest and finest learning institutions in the country.
However the second piece of the ‘intellectual infrastructure’ is less well known and appreciated. It’s the ‘Post Schooling Intellectual infrastructure’ which is made up of a long list of institutions which continue to educate, mentally challenge and grow a person years beyond their schooling. These institutions include museums, orchestras, theaters, religious institutions and as well as book clubs, lecture halls, social clubs and to some extend newspapers and periodicals. If you don’t feel this institutions are intellectually stimulating and expansive, spend the afternoon at the art museum or listening the Cleveland orchestra and understand how differently you afterward.
The institutions which are part of both the Schooling and Post Schooling Intellectual Infrastructure are our libraries. Our forefathers understood the importance and mass appeal of libraries and this is probably why Ohio and especially Cuyahoga County has such a strong library system.
Think about all the above mentioned Cleveland area institutions and you’ll understand the strength of the Cleveland area’s ‘Intellectual infrastructure’. These institutions were critical to our regions early success and are critical to the region’s rebirth.
This country was created as a Republic with citizens selecting our public servants. The founding fathers understood the need to educate citizens in order for citizen to be able to elect their leaders. This was such a risking proposition and many didn’t trust the masses. This is the reason the Electoral College was created. Educating the populace at public expense was not only world altering idea but also an experiment. Rarely and possibly never before had this been attempted on such a large scale. If you don’t appreciate this as a unique proposal; travel to a 3rd world country and understand who has access to the education, especially higher education. It’s little wonder that 3rd world countries have the lowest access to education and the most prosperous areas have the most educated populace.
Fortunately the founders of the Western Reserve region brought their Connecticut and New England values and culture. They understood the importance of an educated populace and installed one of the country’s finest ‘intellectual infrastructures’. They appreciated the physical infrastructure or brawn plus the intellectual infrastructure or brain, were equally important. This understanding allowed the Western Reserve region to grow quickly and prosperously for many decades. After the Civil War, Cleveland was one of the most prosperous areas in the country. The 1880 census showed more millionaires in Cleveland than in other city in the country. As the area prospered these early pioneering Clevelanders continued to pour their resources into the institutions which only strengthened the area’s ‘intellectual Infrastructure’.
Intellectual Infrastructure - Schooling
Schools, colleges and universities are the easiest to understand and most discussed portion of the ‘intellectual infrastructure’. To appreciate the area’s forefather’s understanding of the importance of education, examine the number of colleges and universities in the region and across Ohio. Our forefathers were wise in their long term thinking and founded institutions which still benefit us to this day.
It’s enlightening to examine the number of higher learning institutions in Ohio relative to its population. Ohio has 194 colleges and university and a population of roughly 11 million. Texas in comparison, has 208 institutions of higher learning and a population which is more than double Ohio’s at 24 million. This helps demonstrate the importance our Ohio forefathers placed on education.
Colleges and universities not only educate the students, but they also provide an educated work force which lives and raises families in the area. Professors and their families live, work and go to school and their knowledge oriented outlook helps strength the areas pro-education outlook.
Below is a short list of the centers of higher learning in the Greater Cleveland area. Examine the ages of the region’s colleges and preparatory schools. Baldwin Wallace, Oberlin and Western Reserve were founded long before the Civil War. There was also Cleveland University built in the 1850’s in Tremont. (For this reason Tremont, became known as University Heights) Early Clevelanders understood to be a world class city they needed a world class university. When Cleveland University did not last, they moved Western Reserve University to Cleveland.
Case Western Reserve University (est. 1826) is the largest private university in Ohio. CWRU evolved from a college founded by David Hudson in 1826 in Hudson. In 1888 Amasa Stone donated over $500,000 to move Western Reserve College to Cleveland. In recognition of Stone's donation, the men's undergraduate college was named Adelbert College, after Stone's son, who drowned while a student at Yale. Other contributors raised upwards of $100,000 to purchase 43 acres for it and the fledgling Case School, so they could be adjacent to one another. Only eight years earlier LEONARD CASE, JR., bequeathed a portion of his estate to found the Case School of Applied Science.
In 1950’s they combined the two schools and more recently they wanted to simplify the name to Case University. However this cut off the funding from the ever proud Western Reserve University alumni and the name for the time being remains Case Western Reserve University
When Western Reserve University moved from Hudson, the city fathers decided to create a preparatory school. Given its recent high rankings in the national media, this seems to have been a wise choice.
More recently Wake Forest University moved from Wake Forest North Carolina to Winston Salem, North Carolina. They also understood a great city needs a great university.
Cleveland State University is a world class university which was named and reorganized as CSU in 1964 as the region knew it needed a first rate public university. Its history though is much older. It grew out of a YMCA where classes started in the 1870’s. It was named Fenn College in 1930’s.
Baldwin Wallace (1845) began as Baldwin University and German Wallace College. Local lore has it that Mr. Baldwin felt if he could create a fortunate from the sandstone basin found there, he would create a University. He became wealthy and created Baldwin University. A few years later German Wallace College was created in Berea and in 1914 the two merged and became Baldwin Wallace College. Football fans will know it as the alma mater of Coach Jim Tressel and the place where his father Lee coached for many years. They are still the only Father/Son combination to win football National Championships. Art lovers will know it as their musical arts program is one of its finest in the country. Many, if not most of their graduates go on to New York stardom.
Oberlin (1833) was the first college in America to admit everyone to their college; this included women and African Americans. Most colleges did not admit women as the 19th century American belief was there was no need. Not until the early industrialist were told that ‘women educate the children’ that resources were given to create colleges for women. Oberlin was ahead of its time. Oberlin is well endowed as Mr. Brush left much of his fortune from arch lighting to the college. Lastly a little known trivia about Oberlin is that each college building has to be built in a different architectural style.
John Carroll University (1886) was first based near Tremont near the old Cleveland University campus. Later it was moved to a town named Idlewood. When John Carroll moved to Idlewood the town changed its name to University Heights. Upon hearing this story my friend Joe Arko of Arko Picture Framing felt idlewood would good name for frame shop. He also does great framing.
Ursuline College (1871) and Notre Dame College (1922) are both women’s colleges and look at the age of each. They understood long ago the importance and need to educate all members of our society.
Tri-C was created more recently to make post high school education more affordable and attainable to Cuyahoga county citizens. This was a stroke of genius and forward thinking as the leaders of the day realized not all professions require a four year college degree.
Meyers (1848) One of the oldest in the county and I’m not sure if it’s still in existence. This is shame as on of our country’s greatest philanthropist John D. Rockefeller graduated from Meyers. Hopefully the Rockefeller Foundation can save the school.
Scores of other colleges and technical schools are in the region. These include Kent, YSU, Akron, Bowling Green and others. Many of these schools started out as two year ‘normal schools’. ‘Normal Schools’ were two year colleges to teach and create teachers. These schools have certainly grown since their early beginnings. Kent State is now the second largest school in Ohio.
Primary and secondary schools have always been a focus of parents in this area. Ask a parent why they live in a particular town and they will say the quality of the schools. Parent involvement in schools is paramount to the quality of the schools. This is one reason some schools and some areas are better than others. When we talk about parent involvement in the schools, it's not simply parents talking with the teachers, but the nightly involvement in homework and the extra circular learning by taking their children to museums, libraries, concerts and other educational venues. To demonstrate the importance Clevelanders have always placed on education, it helps to know the first study undertaken years ago by the venerable Cleveland Foundation’s was to improve the City of Cleveland schools.
Also examine the number, the age and the quality of the regions preparatory schools. Hathaway Brown(1876), University School(1890), Laurel(1896), Andrews Osborne(1910), Old Trail School (1920), Gilmore Academy(1950’s) and Hawken School (1915). These plus the non-secular schools of St. Ignatius, St Edwards, St Joes, NDCL, Beaumont , Ratner School and so many others. Notice the age of these schools and also how many were set up for young woman; both advantaged and less advantaged. Early Clevelanders knew the importance of educating women. Won’t they be surprised, pleased and proud that for the last few years more young woman than men have made up our county’s incoming college freshman class. This trend will continue for the foreseeable future.
What many readers may not realize about these independent schools is the number of families who move the Cleveland area so their children can attend these nationally ranked schools. Additionally there are a number of families which have decided not to move away due to the quality of education their children are receiving at these schools. The quality of these schools is truly remarkable and there may not be another area in the county which has such a high concentration of quality independent schools. The number of schools is a good indication of the importance Clevelanders place on education.
To demonstration the quality of these schools is a story from a teacher from one of the above schools who moved to the Washington DC area. She began teaching there and told a friend here, the preparatory schools in DC wished they had the issues that were occurring in the Cleveland area schools. She felt the schools in the DC area were 20 years behind the schools in this area. Fortunately our region’s schools continue to develop, expand and experiment with change so our lead in preparatory education will remain sizable.
Schools play the largest role in the educating of young minds, however other aspects of the intellectual infrastructure are equally important to educating and challenging not only school aged individuals, but post school age individuals as well.
Intellectual Infrastructure - Post Schooling
One reason this area has such a strong ‘post schooling intellectual infrastructure’ is our forefathers understood education is not an inoculation. An individual can not receive a Yale, Ohio State or Oberlin shot and use that knowledge for the rest of their life. The world changes, new knowledge is created and individuals can’t remember everything taught in school. It’s for these reasons most professions now require continuing education classes. Education is a life long endeavor.
Arts & Culture
Arts and education has always been a cornerstone to our area. In the 1830’s the natural history museum opened on Public Square. The industrialist of the late 19th century put their resources into one of the finest art and cultural areas in the country, if not the world. The University Circle area was developed and made available to everyone to help challenge and further develop each individual’s intellect. To understand the importance of this region to Clevelanders then and now, understand that the Cleveland Museum of Art is one of the most endowed. A few years ago it was the 3rd most endowed in the country. Its still one of the only major art museums which does not charge an admittance fee.
There is also the Cleveland Orchestra which is one of the finest in the country. The national history museum is a national treasure as is the botanical garden. Unfortunately the recent changes at the Western Reserve Historical Society have changed it from a national treasure to a local one.
Religious services and meetings
Churches, temples, mosques, and other religious organizations were an early large part of this country’s intellectual infrastructure. Many of this country’s great universities were set up originally as divinity schools. In many ways religious organizations are still part of the intellectual infrastructure. If there are any self professed intellectuals who profess religious institutions are not part of an ‘intellectual infrastructure’, it is questionable if they are one. Many friends, business introductions and learning occur at these institutions. They also give people hope, courage and strength. Unfortunately in the 1950’s President Eisenhower took away much of their power to speak out against individual politicians. It’s unnecessary to point out what has happen to the honesty of most politicians since the 1950’s.
Even if religious leaders can not speak out on individual politicians, these religious institutions can still be great centers of learning. The lessons taught are many times great life lessons (Shakespeare copy many of his lines from the Bible) and as my aunt’s Bratenahl family likes to say, ‘you launder you cloths once a week, you may want to lauder your mind as well’.
Reading in libraries, periodicals, blogs, other
Libraries are a great source of information and learning and this is the reason so many resources were put into the Ohio libraries in the late 19th and throughout the 20th centuries. Ohio has some of the best libraries in the country, as does Cuyahoga County. Visiting one on a Saturday morning and its easy to understand how much use they receive.
Periodicals previously were a good way to learn about our ever changing world. Unfortunately many of the popular periodicals have become more focused on the entertainment community and less on the regional or world altering events and discoveries. Fortunately there are a still a few periodicals which still report on our ever changing region, country and world.
Blogs are the newest form of communications and as with anything else there are good ones and less than stellar ones. The good news with blogs is if you have an interest in a particular area you can find someone writing on the topic. The other good news is there the opportunity to provide input or feedback immediately. This is only beginning to appear in more traditional top down communications.
Twitters, texting and other areas are also forms of communications and whether or not they are part of an intellectual stimulating conversation or simply a recital of a person’s recent activity is up to the individual reader to determine.
In Conclusion…
This writer will be the first to admit that this region has numerous areas of opportunities. Most have been caused by a lack of strong leaders however the good news is our ‘intellectual infrastructure’ is still strong, vibrant and growing. The hope in writing this article is that it will continue to remain so.
Whether citizens take advantage of continual learning, new ideas, thoughts and imagines is up to each individual. There is more than ample opportunity in our region to continually develop one’s mind and expand one’s world of experience. As the old Asian saying goes, “learning something new keeps one young”. Stay young Clevelanders…
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