A Baldwin-Wallace alumnus and a prominent local lawyer will address students and their families in under-graduate and graduate programs during the 158th commencement ceremonies on May 10 and 11, 2008.
Spengler
Briggs
Dr. Dan M. Spengler ’62, will speak at the undergraduate commencement ceremony on May 11 at 2:30 p.m. He has been the chairman of the Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. since 1983.
After receiving his M.D. from the University of Michigan Medical School in 1966, he served as a captain in the Air Force. Following an internship at King County Hospital (Harborview Medical Center), he completed the Orthopaedic program at the University of Michigan Medical Center. After a one-year fellowship in Orthopaedic Biomechanics, he joined the faculty at the University of Washington in Seattle before going to Vanderbilt.
In addition to his administrative responsibilities, Dr. Spengler runs a busy adult spine practice with a focus on the surgical management of patients who have a variety of spinal injuries and disorders. He is involved in clinical and research projects, which range from the composition of the intervertebral disc to clinical outcome studies on patients with low back disorders. He has received the Volvo Award for Low Back Research in 1990, the Kappa Delta Award for Outstanding Orthopaedic Research in 1991, and the Cervical Spine Research Award in 1998. Dr. Spengler remains active in a number of national and international orthopaedic organizations. He has served as a director for the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgeons including the office of president of the ABOS in 1993-1994. Dr. Spengler has recently served as the president for the American Orthopaedic Association.
He received an Alumni Merit Award from B-W in 2002 and joined the Board of Trustees in 2003.
Robert W. “Rob” Briggs will address graduate students in business and education during ceremonies on Saturday,
May 10 at 10:30 a.m. Briggs is president of the GAR Foundation and chairman emeritus and former CEO of Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs, LLP. He became a Knight Foundation Trustee in June 2002 and was elected vice chair in 2005.
Briggs began his law career as a staff judge advocate for the U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate General’s Corps. He has been at Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs since 1971 where he specializes in corporate, business and foundation matters. He also serves on the Board of Directors of FirstMerit Corporation and several other for-profit companies.
An active member of the Akron community, he also is involved with a number of regional organizations including the Musical Arts Association and the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland Foundation. He is the board chair of the National Inventors Hall of Fame Foundation, past chair of the Fund For Our Economic Future, co-chair and board member of OneCommunity and served on the Northeast Ohio Universities Collaboration and Innovation Study Commission.
He has been recognized for his work by the Akron Community Foundation, Northeastern Ohio Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society and the Northeast Ohio Regional Leadership Task Force among numerous others.
Briggs holds a bachelor’s degree from Duke University and a law degree from The Ohio State University College of Law
275 Eastland Rd.