The Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges
250 E. Broad St., Suite 1700
Columbus, Ohio 43215-3722

For more information, please contact Cheryl Kight,
614-649-1950 ext. 111 or kight@ofic.org, or
Lynne Briggs, 614-469-1950 ext. 109, or briggs@ofic.org

April 20, 2010

For immediate release

The Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges to Induct Cedarville University Alumnus DeMaurice F. Smith into Hall of Excellence

The Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges (OFIC) will honor an alumnus of Cedarville University by induction into its Hall of Excellence on April 21, 2010 at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio.

In 1987, OFIC established the Hall of Excellence Award whereby outstanding alumni are inducted on an annual basis.  This, OFIC’s twenty-fourth Evening of Excellence, will celebrate three alumni, whose achievements in their fields and service to society exemplify the values of a liberal arts education.

DeMaurice F. Smith, a 1985 graduate of Cedarville University, rose to prominence in Washington D.C. as a trial lawyer and litigation partner.  He has argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and the D. C. Court of Appeals and served as counsel in the U.S. Attorney General’s Office and on a transition team for the Obama/Biden administration.  Smith was part of the Board of Governors for the D.C. Bar Association and is the former president of the Assistant U.S. Attorney’s Association.  He earned the U.S. Attorney General’s Award and the John Evans Trial Advocacy award and has been named to such prestigious lists as Best Lawyers in Washington and Best Lawyers in America and to Washingtonian magazine’s Young Guns: Top 40 Lawyers under 40.  He has also been a frequent legal commentator on MSNBC’s “Hardball”, CNN, NBC, Court-TV and Fox.  In 2009 National Football League (NFL) players unanimously elected Smith Executive Director of the NFL Players’ Association to represent their union in contract negotiations.  Smith traveled around the U.S. to personally educate the players about the business side of professional football and won their trust and respect with his leadership, and detailed plan to represent their best interests.  Committed to advocacy of education and service to society, Smith has served on his alma mater’s alumni council, taught trial advocacy classes at the University of Virginia, George Washington University and American University and currently serves on the board of the Samaritan Foundation, founded by former NFL football players to assist inner city youth in Washington D.C. with education and job opportunities

Hall of Excellence inductees are selected from nominations submitted by OFIC’s member institutions.  A committee of OFIC board members selects Hall of Excellence inductees whose lifetime achievements exemplify the traditions, ideals, strengths and values of private higher education.  The 108 past Hall of Excellence inductees include Senator John Glenn, Jr. and his wife, Annie Glenn, Coretta Scott King, Hugh Downs, and Norman Vincent Peale.

The Evening of Excellence also honors donors, corporate and collegiate volunteers, and students.
OFIC is the primary corporate and foundation solicitation organization for 34 independent Ohio colleges and universities. OFIC member colleges collectively enroll 98,000 students and award one-third of all bachelor’s degrees in the state. For 60 years OFIC has worked to highlight the leadership, value and excellence of independent higher education and has provided unrestricted operating funds and scholarship commitments through funds raised in annual solicitations of businesses and foundations, thereby assuring continuation of excellence in private higher education. OFIC is governed by a Board of Trustees comprised of Ohio’s corporate leaders, as well as presidents of the 34 member colleges.

The member colleges are: Ashland University, Baldwin-Wallace College, Bluffton University, Capital University, Cedarville University, University of Dayton, Defiance College, Denison University, The University of Findlay, Franciscan University of Steubenville, Franklin University, Heidelberg University, Hiram College, John Carroll University, Kenyon College, Lake Erie College, Lourdes College, Malone University, Marietta College, Mount Union College, Mount Vernon Nazarene University, Muskingum University, Notre Dame College, Oberlin College, Ohio Dominican University, Ohio Northern University, Ohio Wesleyan University, Otterbein College, Urbana University, Ursuline College, Walsh University, Wilmington College, Wittenberg University and The College of Wooster.

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