Stephen R. Cook Receives 2009 Outstanding Professor of the Year Award

Akron, Ohio, May 21, 2009 - Professor Stephen R. Cook received the 2009 Outstanding Professor of the Year Award at The University of Akron School of Law 2009 commencement ceremony.

Each year, members of the law school's graduating class nominate professors for the Outstanding Professor of the Year Award. The class then selects from among the top nominees and presents the award at the law school's commencement ceremony.

"His passion for the law is equally matched by his passion for molding us from students to lawyers. This professor is truly a teacher first, whether his lessons are learned in the classroom or through a quick conversation in the hallway," said 2008-09 Fourth-year Evening Class President Kristy Rider. "From his unwavering professionalism, we learn how to present ourselves. From his expression of love for his career in law, we learn to emphasize the positives in our lives. And from his firm belief in the abilities of each and every one of us, we continue forward, empowered by his confidence that we will all be great lawyers."

Cook is a resident of Wooster and joined Akron Law in 2002. Cook, a Clinical Professor of Law and serves as Director of the New Business Legal Clinic, the Trial Litigation Clinic, Supervisor of the Mahoning County Misdemeanant Inmate Assistance Program and Director of Bar Preparation at The University of Akron School of Law. He received his B.S. from The University of Maryland (1967), M.A. from Kent State University (1973) and J.D. from The University of Akron School of Law (1996). Cook teaches Seminar: New Business Legal Clinic and Seminar: Business Planning. He is admitted to practice in Ohio and before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. Cook's professional memberships include the American Bar Association, the Ohio State Bar Association, Akron Bar Association and the Ohio Bar College. Prior to joining the faculty at Akron Law, Cook was a magistrate for the Village of Smithville Mayor's Court and in private practice with Cook & Schmitt, LLP and and attorney at Critchfield, Critchfield & Johnson, LTD.

The University of Akron School of Law promotes justice, the protection of individual liberty and the rule of law through commitment to excellence in teaching, scholarship and service. The law school features nationally recognized programs in intellectual property and trial advocacy, as well as one of four Constitutional Law Centers in the United States and the Joseph G. Miller and William C. Becker Institute for Professional Responsibility. To learn more, visit www.uakron.edu/law.

The University of Akron is the public research university for Northern Ohio. The Princeton Review listed UA among the "Best in the Midwest" in its 2008 edition of Best Colleges: Region-by-Region. Serving 26,000 students, the University offers approximately 300 associate, bachelor's, master's, doctoral and law degree programs and 100 certificate programs at sites in Summit, Wayne, Medina and Holmes counties. For more information, visit www.uakron.edu.