Robert L. Solomon II, Assistant Vice Provost for The Ohio State University Office of Diversity & Inclusion, will serve as the guest speaker at Columbus Academy's 106th Commencement.
Robert was a member of the school’s Board of Trustees from 2009-15. He and his wife Dinessa are the parents of Academy alumni Lee Solomon ’14 and Allegra Solomon ’16.
“I was honored and humbled by the request to speak at the Columbus Academy Commencement,” he said about the upcoming ceremony, which will begin at 9:00 a.m. on June 6. “We were an active part of the CA family for nine years, which were among the most rewarding years of our children’s education.”
“Academy does an exceptional job of preparing our students to serve, lead, think critically and care about their world. I can think of no greater honor than to have contributed to the CA mission and to have made friends for life among the parents, students, faculty, staff and administration who took that special journey along with me.”
Robert is a graduate of Lipscomb University and The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. He began his legal career as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Ohio. Robert also served as a Franklin County Municipal Court Magistrate before joining The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law to work in administration. During his tenure at the College of Law, he has served as Assistant to the Dean, Director of the Moot Court and Lawyering Skills Program, Assistant Dean for Admission & Financial Aid, an advisor to the Black Law Student Association and as an adjunct professor focusing on Evidence, Trial Advocacy and Appellate Advocacy.
In 1999, Robert left the university to work as an Assistant United States Attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice. In 2001, he returned to the College of Law to assume the role of Senior Assistant Dean for Admission and Financial Aid and to establish an Office of Minority Affairs within the law school as its Director and Chief Diversity Officer. In 2015, Robert assumed his current role as Assistant Vice Provost in the university’s Office of Diversity & Inclusion.
Robert has also been active in the community, currently serving on the board of trustees for the Mansion Day School and Ohio Valley University. In addition to Columbus Academy, his past board service has included the Equal Justice Foundation and the Law School Admission Council (LSAC). He also served on the Diversity Committee of the American Bar Association. Robert has been active in the local Bar as well, having served as Chair of the Law School Liaison Committee for the Columbus Bar Association (CBA), the Long Range Planning Committee and the Minority Clerkship Task Force. He has served on the Executive Board of the John Mercer Langston Bar Association (the local National Bar Association chapter) as Parliamentarian, Chair of Professional Development Committee and as President.
Robert is a President Emeritus of 100 Black Men of Central Ohio and is a Board Chair Emeritus of the Africentric Personal Development Shop. His past honors have included being appointed by former Ohio Governor Ted Strickland to serve on the Ohio Ethics Commission in 2010, selected by Congress to represent the district at the 2006 National African American Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C., the 2015 National Hispanic Bar Association Region X President Award and the 2016 George V. Voinovich Public Service Award from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.
He serves as Associate Minister and an Elder for the Genessee Avenue Church of Christ. Robert and Dinessa, his wife of 28 years, co-founded the nonprofit Foundations for Families and lead the Marriage and Family Ministry. Their son Lee is a graduate of Lipscomb University and a professional baseball player for the Fort Wayne Tin Caps in the San Diego Padres organization. Their daughter Allegra is completing her junior year as an English and creative writing major at Ohio University and plans to pursue a Master of Fine Arts degree upon graduation.