Written by John Finn 330-263-2145 Email Story | Print Story

October 15, 2003

Solomon Oliver, Jr.

WOOSTER, Ohio - The Honorable Solomon Oliver, Jr., U.S. District Court Judge for the Northern District of Ohio and a College of Wooster Trustee, will examine the implications of the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision on affirmative action on Tuesday, Oct. 21, at The College of Wooster. Oliver's address, the second of three Black Studies Seminars sponsored by the Department of Black Studies this fall, begins at 11 a.m. in Lean Lecture Room of Wishart Hall (303 E. University St.). The event is free and open to the public.

Oliver graduated from Wooster with honors in 1969. He then received the J.D. degree from New York University and a master's degree in political science from Case Western Reserve University. In 1972, he returned to Wooster and spent three years as a member of the faculty, teaching in the political science department.

In 1975, he served as senior law clerk to the late Judge William H. Hastie of the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals for one year. Hastie was the first African-American to serve as a federal appellate judge. Between 1976 and 1982, Oliver served with the U.S. Department of Justice as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Cleveland. From July 1978 to March 1982, he was Chief of the Civil Section of the U.S. Attorney's Office before becoming Chief of Appellate Litigation in that office in March 1982.

Oliver joined the faculty of the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law of Cleveland State University in the fall of 1982 and served at that institution for the next 12 years, including three years (1991-1994) as associate dean of faculty and administration.

In 1994, President Clinton appointed Oliver to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. He was sworn in as the 41st judge in the history of that court and thereby became the third Wooster graduate seated on that court. Sam H. Bell '47 and David Dowd '51 were also on the 12-member Northern District Court when Oliver joined them.

Oliver has received numerous honors, including the Distinguished Alumni Award from New York University Black, Latino, Asian Pacific American Law Alumni Association. He has taught and written law review articles in the areas of federal civil jurisdiction and practice. In addition, he has lectured on a wide range of topics at colleges and universities, at continuing legal education seminars, and at judicial conferences.

At Wooster, Oliver has served as an Alumni Trustee and as President of the Alumni Association. He also led the effort to establish the Black Alumni Council's Scholarship Fund, which has endowed a scholarship in the name of Theodore Williams, the Robert E. Wilson Professor of Chemistry Emeritus. He has assisted the College in its admissions efforts and has been especially active with Wooster's pre-law program. Oliver's many achievements were recognized in 2000 when he received Wooster's Distinguished Alumni Award.

The final Black Studies Seminar will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 4, in Lean Lecture Room of Wishart Hall. Attorney Ric Sheffield, associate professor of sociology and law at Kenyon College and the father of Wooster first-year student Clark Sheffield, will examine the sentencing process for blacks within the criminal justice system in a lecture, titled "Making a Case for Mo' Betta Apologies: Race, Remorse, and Criminal Sentencing."

For more information about the Black Studies Seminars, call 330-263-2044.