The College of Business Cooperative Education Partnership Award went to Ernst & Young, whose focus on continuous personal and professional development begins with intense co-op experiences designed to give students a broad view of the different possibilities in the accounting profession.

Finally, Cory Sims, fourth-year finance and real estate major, received the Carl H. Lindner scholarship for his outstanding academic success and community involvement.

John F. Barrett, chairman, president and CEO of Western & Southern Financial Group, served as the event's honorary chairman. Barrett is a 1971 graduate of the College of Business and a 1999 recipient of the Carl H. Lindner Award for Outstanding Business Achievement.

Event Details

Carl H. Lindner Award for Outstanding Business Achievement

Carl H. Lindner III received the Carl H. Lindner Award for Outstanding Business Achievement in recognition of his many accomplishments in his profession as well as his commitment to serving the community. He has served as co-chief executive officer or co-president and as a director of American Financial Group, Inc. since March 1996. He is chairman and president of Great American Insurance Company and has been principally responsible for property and casualty insurance operations since 1987.

Additionally, from February 1992 until March 1996, Mr. Lindner was president and chief operating officer of Penn Central Corporation and led successful efforts to restructure Penn Central and refocus it towards the property and casualty insurance business.

Mr. Lindner is a Cincinnati native and was educated at the University of Cincinnati, where he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree. He and his wife, Martha, are committed philanthropists with a focus on education and a passion for helping impoverished children throughout the world. In 1988, the Lindners led efforts to found Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy (CHCA), a private, non-denominational Christian school offering grades K–12.  In 2000, Keith, Carl III and Mr. Carl H. Lindner helped CHCA found the Otto Armleder Memorial Education Center, in an effort to bring CHCA's unique blend of academic excellence and focus on Christian faith to families in downtown Cincinnati. Currently the Armleder School offers grades PK–8, and has become a national model of excellence in urban education. Today, CHCA has grown into one of the largest non-denominational Christian schools in the country serving a total of approximately 1,430 students.

Mr. Lindner is a member of the Alfalfa Club of Washington, D.C., the Commercial Club of Cincinnati and was one of the founding Elders of Horizon Community Church. In 2008, he was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve on theBoard of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, where he currently serves as a trustee and member of the finance committee.

Mr. Lindner is a committed Christian, husband, father of four and grandfather of two. He is 56 years old, and resides in Cincinnati with his wife, Martha. She is also a graduate of the University of Cincinnati, where she received her Bachelor of Business Administration degree. Mr. Lindner enjoys tennis, skiing, golf, hunting, fishing and wilderness adventure.

Carl H. Lindner Award for Outstanding Business Achievement

S. Craig Lindner received the Carl H.Lindner Award for Outstanding Business Achievement in honor of his success in business and his involvement in the community. Currently co-president, co-chief executive officer and director of American Financial Group, Inc., he has served in an executive capacity with AFG since 1978. He is also president and chief executive officer of Great American Financial Resources, AFG's wholly-owned subsidiary engaged in retirement, annuity, life and supplemental health insurance operations. Craig also serves as president of American Money Management Corporation, an AFG subsidiary that provides investment services and oversees the investment portfolio for AFG and its affiliated companies.

Craig has served on the Boards of Directors of several public companies including National City Corporation, Provident Financial Group, Inc., Citicasters, Inc.and Spelling Entertainment Group, Inc.

He is currently chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Lindner Center of HOPE, a state-of-the-science mental health facility in Mason, Ohio. Recognizing a critical need for a dedicated mental-health facility in the Greater Cincinnati area, Craig, together with his wife, Frances, undertook the ambitious task of making their dream a reality. With the cooperation of the University of Cincinnati and others, Craig was able to successfully obtain funding, develop a business plan and oversee the construction of the Lindner Center of HOPE. The Center opened its doors in August 2008, only four years after its original inception. It has already had a huge impact in the mental-health community, improving the lives of thousands, garnering attention both nationally and internationally for its cutting-edge treatment and research. The Lindner Center of HOPE continues to be a major focus for Craig, and he counts this as one of his most satisfying achievements.

In addition, Craig has been actively involved in numerous civic organizations, including
the Commonwealth Club and the Commercial Club of Cincinnati. He chaired the Annual Greater Cincinnati Classic Horse Show to benefit Shriners Burns Hospital Cincinnati, has been involved with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Journey of Hope Ball, and Project H.O.P.E. benefiting children in Langkloof, South Africa. He has served on the Board of Trustees of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and Cincinnati Country Day School, the school he and his children attended. Craig is also a member of Board of Trustees of the Integrative Medicine Foundation.

Alifelong resident of Cincinnati, Craig received his bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the University of Cincinnati in 1977. He and his wife, Frances, have four children and one grandchild. Craig and his family attend the Horizon Community Church.

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Distinguished Service Award

John F. Cassidy received the Distinguished Service Award due to his many contributions to his profession and the Cincinnati community. As president and chief executive officer of Cincinnati Bell Inc., Cassidy leads the Greater Cincinnati region's first choice for communications services. He is responsible for developing, establishing and executing strategic and operational plans for all Cincinnati Bell companies, which together produce $1.3 billion in annual revenue.

Cincinnati Bell and its employees have a long, proud history of giving back to the community, and Cassidy has continued this tradition through his own personal involvement in spearheading a nationally-recognized partnership with Taft Information Technology High School in downtown Cincinnati. Through this innovative program, more than 50 Cincinnati Bell “tutors” work to provide inner-city youth with the education and training they need to be productive, responsible citizens. Since the program's inception in 2001, the rates of parent involvement, student attendance, graduation and passage of the state proficiency exam have all improved significantly.

Cassidy currently serves on the boards of the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber, Cincinnati Business Committee, Cincinnati Museum Center, University Hospital, 3CDC and the Boomer Esiason Foundation, and he is the former chair and currently a member of the Cincinnati USA Chamber's Minority Business Accelerator Program. He sits on the advisory boards of the Anthony Munoz Foundation, the Boys and Girls Club of Cincinnati and the Marvin Lewis Community Fund.

Cassidy's many honors include Personal Communications Industry Association Distinguished Corporate Citizen, the Boomer Esiason Foundation Man of the Year and the Cincinnati Friars Club Man of the Year. He has received the NAACP Wright Overstreet Award for Education, the Cincinnati School Board “Making aDifference” Award, the 2007 Cincinnatus Association John E. Pepper Award and the Cincinnati Human Relations Commission “Connecting Cultures & Communities” award. Cassidy and Cincinnati Bell were honored as JDRF 2008 Cincinnatians of the Year and accepted the 2009 Silver Hope Award at the National MS Society Dinner of Champions. Most recently, Cassidy received the 2009 “Friend of Education” Award from the Southwest District, Ohio School Boards Association.

Cassidy was named the Clay Pigeon Magazine's Shooting Sportsman of the Year for 2003. He was awarded an Honorary PhD from Cleveland State University in 2006. 

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Recipient Video Highlights

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Cooperative Education Partnership Award

Ernst & Young was recognized as the recipient of the College of Business Cooperative Education Partnership Award. A global leader in assurance, tax, transaction, and advisory services and strategic growth markets, Ernst & Young fosters an inclusive culture and environment focused on continuous personal and professional development—development that begins with intense co-op experiences designed to give students a view of the different possibilities in the accounting profession. This emphasis on providing the best possible experience to future professionals is the basis for a thriving long-term partnership between Ernst & Young and the University of Cincinnati.

In the past, co-op students saw Ernst & Young through a focused lens, joining either the audit or tax practice, and generally having little interaction between the two. Although this focus provided a great experience, it failed to capture the breadth of services and activities of a public accounting organization. With the onset of Sarbanes-Oxley and globalization, the standard career path changed from a linear progression to a series of turns and detours across traditional service lines.

Today's Ernst & Young co-op students gain an expanded view of the organization and an experience that more closely resembles a modern career path. In particular, Carl H. Lindner Honors-PLUS scholars benefit from a special co-op program beginning with a freshman summer internship. After completing their first year of undergraduate study, they become immersed in Ernst & Young's support functions, working with a large cross-section ofpeople across the organization to lead projects including proposals, recruiting and community outreach events and other initiatives. Over six subsequent co-op rotations, students work in the assurance, tax and advisory service lines. They experience the Ernst & Young culture and become familiar with the organization's clients as they audit revenue in assurance, calculate the research and development credit in tax and review the efficiency of their processes in advisory.

Ernst& Young knows that when their people grow and succeed, their clients benefit. The organization sees its partnership with UC and the College of Business as a critical step toward success and as a way to have a role in the development of future leaders for the city, the university and the profession.

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The Carl H. Lindner Scholarship

Cory Sims, fourth-year finance and real estate major at the UC College of Business, received the 2010 Carl H. Lindner Scholarship in recognition of his outstanding academic achievements and extraordinary commitment to community involvement. Born in Cincinnati and raised in Huntington, WV, Sims returned to Cincinnati in 2006 to fulfill his dream of attending UC. He is the son of Gary and Marlene Sims and has one sister, Heather. He is a graduate of Huntington High School, where he served as student body vice-president. He was also active in the National Honor Society as well as golf and varsity soccer.

Sims has earned a cumulative 3.93 GPA at UC and has been on the Dean's List each quarter. He is a Marvin P. Kolodzik Business Scholar and a University Honors Scholar, and he has worked as a teaching assistant for the College of Business. He is also a member of the Delta Sigma Pi Professional Fraternity and president of the Club Golf Team. He serves as a volunteer teaching consultant for Junior Achievement and is a member of St. Monica, St. George Parish.

Outside of class, Sims dedicates the majority of his time to the UC Men's Basketball Team. For four years, he has worked with the team as head student manager, assisting in team practices, game operations and video exchange. During the summer, he serves as a mentor for children taking part in the Mick Cronin Basketball Camps. As part of his involvement with the team, Sims has assisted Coach Cronin in his goal to restore the program to national prominence.

Sims is currently co-oping with Johnson Investment Counsel, Inc., and is scheduled to study abroad in Rome this summer. After graduation, he plans to earn his CFA and CFP and pursue a career in personal finance. 

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Honorary Chairman

John F. Barrett served as the honorary chair of the 2010 Cincinnati Business Achievement Awards. One of Ohio's most determined supporters of economic development, education, health care and fine arts, Barrett is chairman, president and chief executive officer of Western & Southern Financial Group, a Cincinnati-based diversified family of financial services companies with assets owned, managed and under care in excess of $43 billion. A Fortune 500 company, Western & Southern is one of the nine highest-rated life insurance groups in the world based on Standard & Poor's ratings.

Barrett, a recognized leader in the business community and financial services industry, has been the recipient of numerous honorary awards for personal and professional accomplishments. Professionally, he serves on the board of directors of Convergys Corporation and is a current member and co-chairman of the Ohio Business Roundtable. He is active on the boards of trustees of Americans for the Arts, the Cincinnati Art Museum (immediate past chairman), Cincinnati Institute of Fine Arts and Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC). He is also co-chairman of The Greater Cincinnati Scholarship Association, chairman of the Medical Center Fund of Cincinnati for the University of Cincinnati, a member of the advisory board of the University of Cincinnati Barrett Cancer Center, and vice chairman of the Capital Campaign for the University of Cincinnati Foundation.

Through his involvement with Cincinnati MD Resource Center, Barrett was instrumental in the September 2004 launch of cincinnatiMDjobs.com by the Health Improvement Collaborative of Greater Cincinnati (Greater Cincinnati Health Council) in an effort to help recruit more doctors to Cincinnati.

Nationally, Barrett serves as a member of Washington, D.C.'s Business Roundtable and the Financial Services Roundtable (appointed in December 2008 to serve on the Roundtable CEO Advisory Council on Regulatory Restructuring), former chairman and trustee of the American Council of Life Insurers and president of the Association of Ohio Life Insurance Companies, a position he also held in 1997–1998. He is past chairman of the Cincinnati Business Committee (CBC), The Cincinnati Equity Fund and Downtown Cincinnati Inc. In 2006, he led the first statewide tax reform in Ohio in over 75 years as part of his involvement as chairman of the Ohio Business Roundtable. Prior to that, on behalf of the CBC, he arranged the private financing for the Duke Energy Convention Center.

Barrett holds a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the University of Cincinnati. He and his wife, Eileen Ward Barrett, have three adult children.

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