Ronald E. and Terri S. Weinberg and Family Make $30M Gift to Support Research at Cleveland Clinic

Cleveland entrepreneur Ronald E. Weinberg, his wife Terri, and their family, have made a $30 million commitment in support of Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner Research Institute.

Mr. Weinberg is a Director and Principal of Weinberg Capital Group, which manages its investments and operates private companies. He is a member of the Cleveland Clinic Board of Directors and chair of the Research and Education Committee.

Mr. Weinberg explained that with the recent appointment of Serpil Erzurum, M.D., as chair of the Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic has launched significant new initiatives in various fields of medical research. The Weinbergs’ gift is designed to support those initiatives. While not yet designated to any specific research project, the gift will coincide with areas of impact that Dr. Erzurum has designated.

The gift will accelerate the important work that Cleveland Clinic researchers are doing on behalf of patients, Dr. Erzurum said. “It will help us think and act more strategically. By prioritizing where and how we invest in research, we are more likely to make the most impact. We are excited to partner with the Weinbergs, who are as enthusiastic as we are by the vast possibilities of the inspired research of today.”

Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute is one of the largest research institutes in the nation with nearly 1,500 researchers and support personnel in 175 laboratories. Lerner Research Institute has a $270 million research budget and 4,000 ongoing clinical studies.

“Our family is truly pleased to be able to help with this gift and it is really inspirational to think that research projects right here in Cleveland will springboard to help patients around the world,” Mr. Weinberg said.

Mrs. Weinberg added, “The knowledge attained from lab to bedside improves treatment and cures, and I like to remind myself that today’s research is often tomorrow’s cure.”

In recognition of their gift, the skyway connecting much of Cleveland Clinic’s main campus will be named the Weinberg Family Skyway.

Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Mr. Weinberg graduated from Harvard College with a Liberal Arts degree majoring in science. He went on to earn an MBA from Harvard Business School and was working on Wall Street when he took the opportunity to buy into a local investment firm and move to Cleveland in the mid-1970s. Together with Norm Harbert, he founded Hawk Corporation in 1989. Hawk, which manufactured friction and brake materials, grew from a local enterprise to a worldwide manufacturer whose stock was traded on the New York stock exchange prior to its sale in 2010.