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OFIC Hall of Excellence
In 1987, OFIC initiated the Evening of Excellence program to honor outstanding alumni of its member institutions. Some well-known inductees to the OFIC Hall of Excellence are Hugh Downs, Senator John H. Glenn, Coretta Scott King, and Dr. Norman Vincent Peale.
Each year, OFIC member colleges are invited to nominate an alumna/alumnus to be considered for induction into The Hall of Excellence. Inductees are chosen by a committee of OFIC presidential and corporate trustees based on the criteria of professional achievement;
impact on society through service, leadership, scholarship, minority affairs, sciences, research, arts or elected office; and service to alma mater, all of which exemplify the value of a liberal arts education.
Also awarded at The Evening of Excellence is the Earl F. Morris Trustee award, which recognizes exceptional trustees of OFIC member institutions.
2023
Eddie Harrell
Regional Vice President, Urban One Otterbein University
2022
Kara J. Trott
Founder, Board Chair, Senior Advisor, Quantum Health Ohio Wesleyan
2021 - No Program, Covid-19
2020 - No Program, Covid-19
2019
Richard L. Drake, Ph.D.
Director of Anatomy and Professor of Surgery, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine University of Mount Union
Gary R. Heminger
Chairman, CEO, Marathon Petroleum Tiffin University
2018
Lucille G. Ford
Emeritus Trustee,
Past Dean and Provost
Ashland University
Carol A. Latham
Retired CEO
Thermagon Inc.
Ohio Wesleyan University
2017
Robert C. Smith
Partner
HPM Partners LLC
Ohio Northern University
Mark R. Thresher
Executive Vice President and
Chief Financial Officer
Nationwide
Otterbein University
2016
Rev. Dr. Gary V. Simpson
Senior Pastor
The Concord Baptist Church of Christ
Denison University
Sr. Diana Stano, O.S.U.
President Emerita
Ursuline College
Susan C. Wolf, Ph.D., M.D.
Retired Physician & Researcher
The Guild for the Blind
Heidelberg University
Mervin C. Yoder, M.D.
Director, Pediatric Research
Herman B. Wells Center, Indiana University School of Medicine
Malone University
2015
Paul W. Lingle
Owner & President
Lingle Real Estate
Wittenberg University
Sidney Mishkin
Lawyer-Author
Mishkin + Duvall
Wilmington College
Gregory L. Moore
Editor-in-Chief
The Denver Post
Central Editor
Digital First
Ohio Wesleyan University
Lt. General Loren Reno
Dean, School of Business Administration
Cedarville University
3-Star General (Retired) U.S. Air Force
Cedarville University
2014
John J. Bishop
Ohio Northern University
Chairman/Board
The Motorists Insurance Group
Class of 1972
Jean Carper
Ohio Wesleyan University
Author
Health & Nutrition Expert
Class of 1953
Dwight C. Schar
Ashland University
Chairman
NVR, Inc
Class of 1964
James A. Thomas
Baldwin Wallace University
Chairman and CEO
Thomas Properties Group, Inc.
Class of 1959
2013
Harold W. Burlingame
Muskingum University
Executive Vice President of Human Resources, Retired
AT&T
Inducted 2013
Sondra Gerhardt Libman
Heidelberg University
President, Retired
Americanan Healthcare Corporation
Inducted 2013
Clifford D. Shields
University of Mount Union
Director of Education Relations & Corporate Contributions, Retired
Standard Oil Company
2012
Stephen W. Boesel
Baldwin Wallace University
President and Investment Committee Chair
T. Rowe Price Associates Funds
Susan Hirt Hagen
Wittenberg University
Co-Trustee, H.O. Hirt Trust,
Majority Owner
Erie Indemnity Insurance Co.
‡
David C. Phillips
University of Dayton
Co-Founder
Cincinnati Works
2011
John G. “Jack” Breen
John Carroll University
Retired Chairman & CEO
Sherwin-Williams
Dr. Sylvester “Sy” Green
University of Mount Union Former National Chairman & Consultant
Green Rolle Consulting
Elizabeth “Betsy” Juliano
Hiram College
Principal
Litigation Management Inc.
2010
Evan R. Corns
Ohio Wesleyan University
Partners
Vanita D. Oelschlager
University of Mount Union
Co-Owner
Oak Associates, ltd.
Founder
Oak Clinic for Multiple
DeMaurice Smith
Cedarville University
Executive Director
National Football League Players Association
2009
John Q. Adams, Sr.
Heidelberg University
President
J.Q. Enterprises, Inc.
Thomas E. Hoaglin
Denison University
Retired Chairman, President and CEO
Huntington Bancshares, Inc.
Stewart A. Kohl
Oberlin College
Co-Chief Executive Officer
The Riverside Company
Donna VanLiere
Cedarville University
Author and Speaker
2008
Robert S. Kunkel, Jr.
University of Mount Union
Physician
The Cleveland Clinic
Harry D. Raduege, Jr.
Capital University
Lt. Gen. USAF Ret.,
Chairman, Deloitte Center
Linda J. Saif
The College of Wooster
Distinguished University Professor
The Ohio State University
Walter R. Young, Jr.
Muskingum University
Former CEO
Champion Enterprises
2007
Robert R. Dyson
Marietta College
Chairman and CEO
Dyson-Kissner-Moran
Corporation
and President, Dyson Foundation
James M. Lawson, Jr.
Baldwin Wallace University
Retired Pastor, Holman
United Methodist Church and leader in the
Civil Rights Movement
Dean A. Scarborough
Hiram College
Chief Executive Officer
Avery Dennison Corporation
2006
William T. McConnell
Denison University
Chairman, Executive Committee
Park National Corporation
Peggy M. Ruhlin
Otterbein University
Partner, Budros, Ruhlin & Roe, Inc.
Meredythe A. Scheflen
Malone University
Missionary, Educator
‡
George M. Smart
Defiance College
Chairman of the Board
FirstEnergy Corporation
2005
Hugh Downs
Bluffton University
Retired, Anchor
ABC News, “20/20”
Michael G. Hanna, Jr.
Baldwin Wallace University
Chairman, President & Chief Scientific Officer
Intracel Corporation, Inc.
David L. Hobson
Ohio Wesleyan University
U. S. House of Representativs
Renee Jones Weeks
Ursuline College
Judge Superior Court of New Jersey
2004
William Thompson Dentzer, Jr.
Muskingum University
Retired, Founding Chairman & CEO of the
Depository Trust Company
William A. McClain
Wittenberg University
Retired Judge, Court of Appeals, and Attorney,
Manley, Burke, Fischer, Lipton & Co.
‡
Peter A. Neff
Franciscan University of Steubenville
Prosthodontist, Researcher and Author
Emily Taylor
Urbana University
American Council of Education in Washington, D.C.
‡
2003
William M. Kelso
Baldwin Wallace University
Director of Archaeology
Jamestown Recovery Project
James D. Radcliffe
Mount Vernon Nazarene University
Medical Missionary, New Guine
Leonard M. Randolph Jr.,
Marietta College
USAF Department of Defense
Ming Ming Wong
Wilmington College
Parasitology, Veterinary Medicine
2002
Wilmer A. Cooper
Wilmington College
Educator
‡
Karen Weaver Spero
Lake Erie College
Investment Adviser
Brian L. Stafford
University of Mount Union
Director U.S. Secret Service
Gilda A. Jackson
Ohio Dominican University
Colonel, U.S. Marine Corps
2001
George H. Conrades
Ohio Wesleyan University
Chairman & CEO
Akamai Technologies
Patricia L. Fletcher
Franciscan University of Steubenville
President
The National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs, Inc.
James D. Oelschlager
Denison University
President & CEO, Oak Associates, ltd.
Elizabeth B. Shelly
Bluffton University
Retired, Appalachian Regional Healthcare and Family Health Services
William B. Summers, Jr.
Baldwin Wallace University
Chairman & CEO
McDonald Investments, Inc
2000
Ralph M. Besse
Heidelberg University
Attorney
Squire, Sanders and Dempsey
‡
Frederick S. Cross
Oberlin College
Cardiac Surgeon
St. Luke’s Hospital
‡
Most Reverend Anthony M. Pilla
John Carroll University
Bishop of Cleveland
Timothy P. Smucker
The College of Wooster
Chairman, The J.M. Smucker Company
Joseph M. Stowell III
Cedarville University
President, Moody Bible Institute
Jacqueline Dudek Woods
Muskingum University
President
Ameritech Ohio
1999
Anna “Annie” Glenn
Muskingum University
Advocate for Health Disabilities
Clayton L. Mathile
Ohio Northern University
Chairman, The Iams Company
Robert “Bobby” Rahal
Denison University
President, Team Rahal
David P. Rawson
Malone University
U. S. Ambassador
1998
Robert H. Atwell
The College of Wooster
Educator
George R. Creegan
Franciscan University of Steubenville
Chairman , Creegan Company
Coretta Scott King
Antioch College
Founder, Martin Luther King, Jr. Center
‡
Ralph S. Locher
Bluffton University
Retired Justice
Ohio Supreme Court
‡
Carl T. Rowan
Oberlin College
Journalist, Author and Civic Leader
‡
1997
Robert W. Gillespie
Ohio Wesleyan University
Chairman & CEO, KeyCorp
Graham Gund
Kenyon College
Founder & President
Graham Gund Architects
Dee Hoty
Otterbein University
Actress
Richard M. Krause
Marietta College
Senior Science Advisor
National Institute of Health
1996
William A. Diehl
Defiance College
President
Diehl, Inc.
‡
Ralph S. Regula
University of Mount Union
U.S. House of Representatives
Sister Mary Marthe Reinhard
Notre Dame College
Educator
‡
F. Sherwood Rowland
Ohio Wesleyan University
Nobel Prize, Chemistry, Professor, University of California - Irvine
1995
Larry D. Bouts
Hiram College
President
International Division of Toys “R” Us
Willard E. Carmel
Baldwin Wallace University
Retired Chairman & President
McDonald & Co.
Thomas C. Finnegan
Ohio Dominican University
Actor
David Paul Jeremiah
Cedarville University
President
Christian Heritage College
Author & Pastor
Eleanor J. Smith
Capital University
Chancellor
University of Wisconsin-Parkside
1994
John E. Fisher
Franklin University
Retired President & CEO
Nationwide Insurance Enterprise
John “Jack” Hanna
Muskingum University
Director Emeritus
Columbus Zoo
O’Dell Moreno Owens
Antioch College
Director, Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility
Christ Hospital
Patrick W. Rooney
The University of Findlay
President & COO
Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.
‡
Thekla Reese Shackelford
Denison University
Owner
School Selection Counseling
1993
Erwin N. Griswold
Oberlin College
Former Dean
Harvard Law School
‡
Susan J. Insley
Ohio Northern University
Senior Vice President
Honda of America Manufacturing
John Karefa-Smart
Otterbein University
Retired Missionary
Doctor & Political Leader
‡
Richard L. Kuss
Wittenberg University
Retired President
Bonded Oil Co.
‡
David Hamilton Smith
Ohio Wesleyan University
Doctor, Researcher, & Author
Pediatric Medicine & Immunology
‡
Jan Hopkins Trachtman
Hiram College
Anchor
CNN
1992
Helen Murray Free
The College of Wooster
Professional Relations Consultant Miles Inc.,
Russell R. Gifford
Heidelberg University
Reitred President
CNG Energy Services Corp.
Raymond Haysbert
Wilberforce University
President & CEO
Parks Sausage Co.
Richard G. Lugar
Denison University
U.S. Senate
Wolfgang R. Schmitt
Otterbein University
Chairman & CEO
Rubbermaid Incorporated
1991
Harold Rowe “Hal” Holbrook
Denison University
Actor
William Frederick Laird
Capital University
Retired Chair & CEO
Columbia Gas Systems
‡
Frank F. Ledford, Jr.
University of Dayton
Retired Surgeon General
U.S. Army
John Gardner McCoy
Marietta College
Chairman of the Executive Committee
Banc One Corporation
‡
Frank N. Stanton
Ohio Wesleyan University
Retired President
CBS
‡
William D. White
Hiram College
Retired President
National League of Professional Baseball Clubs
1990
Anthony J. Celebrezze, Sr.
Ohio Northern University
Retired Federal Judge
‡
Sister Jean Patrice Harrington
College of Mount St. Joseph
Educator
Donald A. Henderson
Oberlin College
University Distinguished Service Professor
Johns Hopkins University
Steven A. Minter
Baldwin Wallace University
Director
Cleveland Foundation
Charles J. Pilliod, Jr.
Muskingum University
Retired Chairman of the Board & CEO
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co.
John W. Pocock
The College of Wooster
Retired, Airways Modernization Board
‡
1989
Harold A. McMaster
Defiance College
Chairman
Glasstech, Inc.
‡
Armin H. Meyer
Capital University
Former Ambassador to Lebanon, Iran, Japan
‡
Earl F. Morris
Wittenberg University
Former Partner
Porter, Wright, Morris & Arthur
‡
Norman Vincent Peale
Ohio Wesleyan University
Pastor, Author & Speaker
‡
Dorothy Sisk
University of Mount Union
Conn Endowed Chair
College of Education
Lamar University
Richard L. Thomas
Kenyon College
Retired Chairman
First Chicago NBD
Corporation
1988
Philip Caldwell
Muskingum University
Chairman of the Board & CEO
Ford Motor Company
Leland C. Clark, Jr.
Antioch College
Research Professor of Biological Science
‡
David Amer Daberko
Denison University
Chairman
National City Corporation
Rev. Floyd H. Flake
Wilberforce University
U.S. House of Representatives
Jacob O. Kamm
Baldwin Wallace University
Retired Professor of
Economics
Author & Professor
‡
1987
Marye Anne Payne Fox
Notre Dame College
Vice President for Research
University of Texas
James P. Storer
Kenyon College
Retired Chairman of the Board
Storer Communications
Stanley C. Gault
The College of Wooster
Chairman of the Board & CEO
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.
‡
John H. Glenn, Jr.
Muskingum University
U.S. Senate
‡
Benjamin T. Hacker
Wittenberg University
Rear Admiral USN
‡