William Batchelder ’64, Ohio Speaker of the House, Announces Retirement
Also in OWU in the News: Robert Brown ’75 and Eric Francis ’10
William Batchelder ’64
William Batchelder ’64
William Batchelder prepares for retirement after spending more than 35 years in the Ohio House of Representatives and speaks to Columbus Monthly about his time in and out of office.
At Ohio Wesleyan, he majored in history and was a member of Omnicron Delta Kappa Honorary Society, Delta Sigma Rho Forensic Honorary Society, and Phi Alpha Theta History Honorary Society. He also met his wife, Alice Moore Batchelder ’64, while at OWU. Today, she is a federal judge who swore in her husband as the 101st Speaker of the Ohio House in 2011.
Batchelder shares one of his wife’s OWU memories with writer Anthony Dominic: “She tells a funny story. I went to Ohio Wesleyan, as did she. So I’m riding down the street on my English bicycle with a plaid hat on and a raincoat. And as I shoot past, she turns to her roommate and says, ‘I wonder who will get stuck with that one.’ [laughs] God bless her.”
In addition to his time in the Ohio House, Batchelder also served as a judge for the Medina County Common Pleas Court, a judge on the Ninth District Court of Appeals, and a 30-plus-year attorney for the Williams and Batchelder Law Firm, and an adjunct professor at both The University of Akron Law School and Cleveland State University Levin College of Urban Affairs.
Read the complete Columbus Monthly article, “Mr. Speaker: An Exit Interview with State Rep. William Batchelder.”
Robert Brown ’75
Robert Brown ’75
Bob Brown is tapped to become vice president of engineering for San Francisco-based i-Human Patients. In his new role, Brown will lead advancement of the company’s i-Human Patients® platform, which provides a complete virtual active learning experience for health care students and clinical professionals. He previously worked for Education.com, an online education company.
“One in 20 U.S. adult outpatients is misdiagnosed every year, making our mission to improve health care provider competencies more important than ever,” Brown said. “Alongside i-Human’s developers and engineers, I’m working to bring health care educators new and better tools to help practitioners develop the skills and knowledge that will ensure the best possible patient outcomes.”
At Ohio Wesleyan, Brown majored in mathematics. He later earned his doctorate in computer science from Purdue University. He began his professional career as a founding member of the Research Institute for Advanced Computer Science at NASA.
Read more about Brown’s work and career.
Eric Francis ’10
Eric Francis ’10
Eric Francis joins the northeast Ohio-based law firm of Black McCuskey Souers & Arbaugh LPA, where he will practice in the areas of business, real estate, and litigation.
At Ohio Wesleyan, he majored in history and English and graduated cum laude before earning his law degree from Capital University. At Ohio Wesleyan, Francis also worked for The Historian, a historical journal, editing book reviews and journal articles. In addition, he served on the student history board, was a member of the national history honor society Phi Alpha Theta, and played on the varsity men’s soccer team.
Read more about Francis’ new position.