Stephen E. Chappelear ( BA, '74, JD, '77), a member of the College of Arts and Sciences Alumni Society, received The Ritter Award from the Ohio State Bar Foundation. The award, the highest honor awarded by the Foundation, is given annually for a lifetime of service. Chappelear was recognized for attaining and promoting the highest level of professionalism, integrity and ethics in the practice of law while assisting other attorneys, the courts and the public to envision and for his contributions to the improvement of the justice system in Ohio.

Chappelear is a partner with Hahn Loeser & Parks LLP. He is the current president of the National Conference of Bar Foundations and serves as the chair of the Trial Techniques Committee of the American Bar Association Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section. Chappelear is the past president of the Ohio State Bar Foundation, the Ohio State Bar Association and the Columbus Bar Association.

In addition to his service on behalf of the College of Arts and Sciences, Chappelear serves as a member of the OSU Moritz College of Law National Council and president of its Law Alumni Association.