Our History
In 1926 the Group Services Training Center, (later known as the University Neighborhood Center, and ultimately the University Settlement,) was started by the School of Applied Social Sciences (SASS) of Case Western Reserve University. Wilbur I. Newstetter served as director of SASS from 1926 to 1936, and was assisted by Rev. Joel B. Hayden, a founder of Woodland Center. The original purpose of the Settlement was to develop an experimental program to provide training for SASS graduate students, and at the same time provide services to the community. Broadway Center House, the main program located at 7214 Broadway Avenue, opened in January 1926.
The Settlement was administered by SASS and funded by the private contributions of Mrs. Dudley Blossom. In 1936 the Settlement was incorporated under the name University Settlement, dropped its affiliation with SASS, and became a member of the Welfare Federation of Cleveland. Wilbur Joseph was appointed executive director. University Settlement continues to serve Cleveland’s Broadway-Slavic Village area. A new building was constructed at 7310 Fleet Avenue in 1963. The main program moved to the site at 4800 Broadway Avenue in 1983.
Eleanor Bonham Deex had the longest tenure as the agency’s director, serving from 1947 to 1969. After her retirement, long-time staff worker Gale Ward became director, but he served only two years before his death. Norma Waits and Paul Buccino followed. Buccino helped plan the acquisition of the site at 4800 Broadway, and during his service, the agency’s programs grew substantially. Mary Sanders became director in 1982 and moved the agency into the operation of transitional housing with the purchase and remodeling of the Panek Building in the north Broadway area.
Tracey N. Mason took over the establishment in late 2003 and under Mason’s leadership, The Magic Johnson Foundation named University Settlement as a recipient of a $250,000 grant. Derrick Fulton became director in early 2012 followed by Earl Pike in 2017.
In 2019, under Pike’s leadership, a feasibility study was conducted to assess a potential to complete a capital campaign for new facilities. Launched was a larger community discussion about the need for a neighborhood renaissance, including a new headquarters for US.
Thus, University Settlement initiated the Broadway Rising Capital Campaign to develop the North Broadway area of Slavic Village. The anchor to this project was construction of the new headquarters, at the 5115. University Settlement partnered with The NRP Group, the largest developer of affordable housing in the country, to construct a four story, mixed-use, mixed-income housing complex with 1-, 2-, and 3-bedroom units of affordable apartments. And as of August 2024, the Settlement owns and occupies 20,000 sf of the first floor for programming and a space that includes the newest Tri-C Access Center.
In March of 2024, Mrs. Richaun N. Bunton was appointed the new Executive Director for the agency. And under her leadership, in October 2024, the Settlement celebrated the grand opening of the new headquarters with an official ribbon cutting.
Although services offered have changed over time to meet the changing needs of the neighborhood, one thing has stayed the same: the dedication of University Settlement to serve the residents of the Broadway Slavic Village neighborhood and with an office in Parma for Family Services, serving 14 zip codes in the Southeast area of Cleveland.
