2007 Annual Report

University Circle is an amazing place. In a world economy increasingly centered on brainpower and creativity, the concentration of talent in University Circle is one of this region’s most competitive strengths. This fact does not diminish the importance of other talent-rich places, but the Circle’s cluster of assets–an incredible range of education, medical, scientific and cultural institutions–is unique. Although the institutions are themselves quite varied, together they represent a crucible of talent and innovation that is unmatched–surely in our region and in most places elsewhere. Consequently, University Circle will play an exceptional role in determining the future of all of Northeast Ohio.

A glimpse into the Circle’s uniqueness and many aspects of its beauty are captured in the photographs by Garie Waltzer in this annual report. We chose this topic for this year’s photo essay both because of University Circle’s importance and be-cause 2007 marked the 50th anniversary of University Circle Incorporated (UCI), the nonprofit organization principally charged with the stewardship of the district. UCI’s work and the Circle itself deserve to be celebrated. And doing so should strengthen the sense of ownership that everyone in Northeast Ohio ought to feel toward this special place. Yet, the intensity of global competition also demands that such ownership cause us to critically appraise even the best of our assets.

In all candor, the Circle has not yet achieved its potential. Insular planning by members of the Circle community has too often led to physical developments that turn excessively inward, impairing the Circle’s vitality and its connections with its neighboring communities. Most importantly, the neighbor-hood lacks the critical mass of housing, retail activity and street life that should be woven throughout the institutional fabric in order to achieve the Circle’s real potential as a place to work, live and visit—in other words, to be the talent magnet that we all need it to be.

UCI and many of its partners are deeply engaged in efforts to address these shortcomings. The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority and UCI are giving Euclid Avenue a total makeover, enhancing investments by University Hospitals, the Cleveland Clinic and others. Case Western Reserve University, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Cleveland Institute of Art and UCI are moving closer to creating an inviting cross-roads of activity at the Ford-Euclid-Mayfield intersection.

These and other improvements have been discussed, planned and advanced for many years. The clear lesson that should be derived from the difficulty of achieving success is that no single institution has the clout or the finances to get them done alone. As in nearly every other sphere, nothing of consequence can be accomplished without real collaboration, and even with it, the challenges remain substantial. In University Circle, UCI exists to be the forum for that collaboration, but its structure actually impedes the type of broadly based partnership that big things require. It was my privilege to serve as UCI’s president before joining The George Gund Foundation, so I know from experience the strengths and weaknesses of UCI’s organizational form. I remain hopeful that UCI’s members will soon incorporate the needed changes that will make their common table a 21st-century organization. The Circle’s institutions and their neighbors, the city of Cleveland, Northeast Ohio and, indeed, all of us who live and work here are depending on it.

David Abbot, Executive Director of The George Gund Foundation