CLEVELAND, December 15, 2003 / Dr. Michael Schwartz, Chairman of the Ohio Aerospace Institute (OAI) and President of Cleveland State University, announced that OAI's Board of Trustees has asked William Seelbach to become OAI's permanent President and CEO. Since April 1, Mr. Seelbach has served as OAI's Interim President.

Dr. Schwartz commented, "OAI's Board is very pleased that Bill has accepted our offer to be OAI's President and CEO. Bill has done a great job in the last eight months in gaining agreement on a new strategic plan and strengthening relationships across the state. We are delighted he has agreed to be our ongoing President."

"I am very excited about the opportunity to implement OAI's strategic plan and to increase OAI's impact on a state-wide basis," Mr. Seelbach stated.. Prior to joining OAI in April, Mr. Seelbach had been the President of Brush Engineered Materials, a $400 million specialty metals and manufacturing company headquartered in Cleveland.

OAI's mission is to build Ohio's aerospace capabilities through research partnerships, training, education, and networking. The nonprofit works closely with NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, 10 Ohio universities with advanced engineering and research programs, and a host of aerospace- related companies across the state.

For more information, visit www.oai.org .

Electronic Publishing