Ohio State honors two at winter commencement - 03/18/10

COLUMBUS – Two university graduates will be honored at The Ohio State University’s winter 2010 commencement for their dedication to the university. Ceremonies begin at 2 p.m. Sunday (3/21), at the Jerome Schottenstein Center.

Curtis J. Moody, president and CEO of the Moody•Nolan architectural firm, will deliver the commencement address. Approximately 2,000 students will receive degrees during the ceremony.

Distinguished Service Awards will be presented to Richard D. Rosen, corporate vice president and executive director of Battelle’s education and philanthropy partnerships, and Carl D. Smallwood, a partner in the Columbus office of Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease, LLP.
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Richard D. Rosen, Distinguished Service Award

Rich Rosen is corporate vice president and executive director of Battelle’s education and philanthropy partnerships that are intended to measure student achievement, assist with professional development for teachers, and promote inquiry-based teaching, especially in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines. He also serves as executive director of the Ohio STEM Learning Network, a public/private initiative with the State of Ohio and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

During his 29-year career at Battelle, Rosen has held corporate and senior management positions across the organization, including general management of product development and medical device technical groups. In his current role, he has played a leading role in building the increasing partnership between Battelle and The Ohio State University, where he received his master’s degree in biomedical engineering. Working closely with the university’s College of Education and Human Ecology, he helped create Metro High School, a Columbus public school that stimulates student interest in the STEM disciplines.

Rosen was instrumental in the establishment of the Battelle Center in Math and Science Education Policy at the John Glenn School of Public Affairs and has collaborated with the University Medical Center in winning Ohio’s Third Frontier Program grants for cardiology, cancer,informatics, nanotechnology, and imaging proposals. He has served on Ohio State’s Biomedical Advisory Council and was a key player in the creation of TechColumbus, receiving the BioOhio Leadership Award for his work in bioscience industry advancement in Ohio.

Rosen also was a leader in the creation of The Ohio State University Urban Arts Space at the renovated Lazarus Building in downtown Columbus, as well as the WOSU@COSI Battelle Studio, which is now linked to Metro High School and other statewide emerging STEM programs.

In 2007, Ohio State’s College of Engineering honored him with a Distinguished Alumni Award, and, in 2009, he received an award from the National Society of Black Engineers for his dedication to furthering STEM education.

Carl D. Smallwood, Distinguished Service Award

Carl D. Smallwood is a partner in the Columbus office of Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease, LLP, a 385-person law firm.

After earning his BS in business administration and international business at The Ohio State University and his JD from the university’s Moritz College of Law, he joined Vorys in 1980, becoming a partner in 1987. As a member of the firm’s litigation group, he represents clients in litigation, arbitration, and mediation of employment-related injury, wrongful termination, professional negligence, and toxic exposure disputes.

In 2002, as the first African American president in the history of the 4,800-member Columbus Bar Association, Mr. Smallwood developed and led the Managing Partners’ Diversity Initiative (MPDI), a commitment by 22 local law firms to make a concerted effort to recruit, hire, retain, and promote minority lawyers. Since 2000, the number of minority attorneys at the represented firms has grown by 102 percent. He currently serves as the president of the Law and Leadership Institute, a statewide diversity pipeline program for promising high school students.

Smallwood continues his active involvement with his alma mater, where he has served as president of the Law Alumni Society and the Black Law Alumni Society. He was a member of the Moritz College of Law National Council from 1998 to the present and served as an adjunct professor in trial advocacy in 1998-99. In addition, he co-chaired a solicitation effort at Vorys that established a designated professorship in honor of John C. Elam, the firm’s former managing partner.

In 2001, Smallwood was named a “Lawyer of the Year” by Ohio Lawyers Weekly, and he has been elected to Ohio Super Lawyers for the past six consecutive years. The Ohio State University Alumni Association recognized him with the Josephine Failer Award in 1994 and the Heinlen Award in 2001. He is also the recipient of the Columbus Urban League’s 2001 Award of Excellence. Earlier this year, Mr. Smallwood was honored by the Columbus Bar Association for his contributions to diversity in the Columbus legal community.

He is the second Smallwood to serve Ohio State. His father, Dr. Osborn Smallwood, served as director and vice president for international affairs at the university in the 1970s.