Voinovich School Advisory Board service a continuation of Cooper’s OHIO legacy

One of the longest serving members on the Advisory Board for the George V. Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service keeps going to bat for Ohio University, even in retirement.

Cary Cooper, a former Bobcat baseball player, retired last summer after decades as a top Toledo-area attorney. He nonetheless has never lost contact with the University, including serving as a member of its Board of Trustees for more than a decade – a tenure he will wrap up in June. Cooper is also paying it forward with a fund he created to benefit the Voinovich Scholars Program.

The 1964 graduate doubled up on his contribution to OHIO several years ago by joining the Voinovich School Advisory Board at the request of former dean Mark Weinberg.

“I believe in what they are doing, what Mark was doing. It’s a real positive for the area and the state of Ohio for the people they are serving, so that’s how I got into it,” he said.

Cooper also lauded the work of current Dean Tracy Plouck, saying she has continued the school’s upward trajectory.

“She’s been very active and continues to build the school and expand it to different areas to do a lot of things,” he said.

Cooper’s professional journey following his graduation with a zoology degree from OHIO's College of Arts and Sciences took him to Washington, D.C. for a year to work for the government. Deciding that career track wasn’t for him, he returned to Ohio and settled in northwest Ohio, where his late wife Mary Ann, also a 1964 OHIO graduate, grew up. He would go on to earn a degree at the University of Toledo College of Law.

Cooper formed his own law firm with a colleague, Cooper & Walinski. It grew to more than 50 lawyers over several decades, before he left and joined the firm Marshall & Melhorn, LLC, where he would eventually retire.

Former Governor John Kasich appointed Cooper to the Ohio University Board of Trustees, first for a one-year term and then for a full nine-year term. He then continued to serve on the panel as a non-voting member. While he was already well-known in Athens circles, he said jokingly that Weinberg probably asked him to join the Voinovich board because he grew up in nearby McArthur and maintains an interest in the area.

A Bobcat Family

Cooper’s interest in OHIO extends to his family. Granddaughter Zoe Cooper is currently a sophomore and grandson Liam Cooper attended the University and is currently in graduate school at Ohio State.

He is also involved in a more personal level, having started the Mary Ann’s Fund for Voinovich Scholars in his wife’s name that provides stipends for students in the Voinovich Scholars Program focused on environmental projects in Southeast Ohio.

Asked about his input as a Voinovich School advisor, Cooper modestly described his role as more of a cheerleader while applauding the work of his fellow members.

“I’ve been impressed with the people who are on the board even by their activities off the board,” he said.

The Voinovich School supports its students and the region

As for the Voinovich School’s ongoing initiatives, which span environmental, health, development and government assistance, Cooper said, “The area really needs the help.”

“I think that the work that they are doing in cooperation with the state and the area is really what they need, and I keep my fingers crossed that the federal government is going to continue to provide some assistance,” Cooper said.

“I really like what they do with the students – bringing them in and giving them opportunities to do some research that’s helpful and of great significance,” Cooper continued. “That’s something I would like to see grow – to expand it to more students and more opportunities.”

“The school is getting a reputation statewide and is doing more, and that’s good,” he said in making a pitch for continued financial support. “It’s at a point where it’s doing so much good, I think it’s carved out a pretty good niche.”

Cooper has three grown children, all lawyers, and three other grandkids: Stella, Alex and Charlie. He enjoys playing golf with his sons and previously kept in shape by running in marathons until his doctor advised him to quit, he said. He then took up rowing – an activity that led him to service on the Board of Trustees for the Toledo Rowing Club, which promotes youth rowing in Northwest Ohio.