The Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation has announced an $8 million grant to Case Western Reserve University in support of the university's programs in social work, leadership, and community engagement.

The gift includes $4.95 million for the renovation of the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences — to be renamed the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences — as part of an $8.9 million capital campaign. The rest of the gift will be used to fund academic initiatives, student scholarships, and an endowed chair in applied social sciences.

The Cleveland-based foundation, which recently changed its name to recognize the three brothers who founded it, has been a longtime supporter of CWRU, a relationship highlighted in 1988 by a naming gift for what was then the School of Applied Social Sciences. Last year, CWRU and the foundation decided to shutter the Mandel Center for Nonprofit Organizations and launch academic tracks within CWRU's existing MBA programs and MSASS to better reflect changes in the nonprofit field as well as opportunities in the private and public sectors. The renovations and improvements will enable additional programs to be housed within two buildings across the street from each other, helping to create a more dynamic, flexible, and synergistic environment for students and faculty.

"The foundation has made an enormous difference in the development and success of our school," said MSASS dean Grover "Cleve" Gilmore. "Its investment has allowed us to prepare leaders who provide positive change for the individuals and organizations they encounter — and its standard of excellence always emboldens us to work to be even better."