Mr. Sermersheim retired on June 30, 2007, after 31 years of University service. He most recently served as the Associate Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for The University of Akron. His duties included broad responsibility for the operation of the Office of General Counsel.

Mr. Sermersheim has also served as Associate General Counsel and Director of Contracts Administration for the University, and as Director of Student Legal Programs.

Before joining The University of Akron, Mr. Sermersheim was a Captain in the U.S. Army, Judge Advocate General Corps in Japan.

Mr. Sermersheim will receive the Distinguished Service Award from the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA) on June 27, 2007. He served on the Board of Directors of NACUA from 1997-2000, and served as chair of NACUA's Committee on Publications for four years and as co-chair of NACUA's Environmental Law Section. He completed three publications for NACUA: a pamphlet entitled Computer Access: Selected Issues Affecting Higher Education, a text called Environmental Law, Selected Issues for Higher Education Managers and Counsel, and a practice guide titled NACUA Contract Formbook. He previously served for nine years as a trustee of United Disability Services, three years of which he served as President. Previously, Mr. Sermersheim served as a Trustee on the Akron/Summit Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc., and as a Trustee of the Greater Akron Metropolitan Regional Transit Authority (three years as President).

Mr. Sermersheim received both his Bachelor of Arts and his Juris Doctor from The University of Akron.

The University and the Office of General Counsel wish him well in his newly planned endeavors.