Judge Walter H. Rice is a graduate of Northwestern University, receiving a B.A. degree in 1958. He attended the Columbia University School of Law and received a Juris Doctorate degree in 1962. He also attended the Columbia University Graduate School of Business Administration and received a Master of Business Administration in 1962. He received an Honorary Degree, Doctor of Laws, from the University of Dayton, in 1991 and an Honorary Degree, Doctor of Humane Letters, from the Wright State University in 2000. In 2014, he was the recipient of the Thomas J. Moyer Award for Judicial Excellence, given annually by the Ohio State Bar Association, to the member of the judiciary who best exemplifies the ideals and accomplishments of the late Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court. In 2019, Judge Rice was the recipient of the Brother Raymond L. Fitz Award for support of children and families, and in 2023 received the John E. Moore Sr. Champion for Youth Award. Judge Rice is a founding member of Dayton Dialogue on Race Relations, previous Board Chair of the American Veterans Heritage Center; Co-chair of the Montgomery County Reentry Council; Co-chair of the Paul Laurence Dunbar Statue Committee, Chair of the Board of the Mentoring Collaborative, and a Board Member of Children’s Historical Publishing, Dayton Urban Young Life, and the Wright Image Group. 

In 2019, the Federal Building and United States Courthouse in downtown Dayton was named in honor of Judge Rice. He served as Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio from October 13, 1996, to October 12, 2003.

Please contact Alison Nelson, Administrative Assistant, Career Services Office