A Representative from Ohio; born in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, April 6, 1950; attended private schools in Euclid, Ohio; B.A., Xavier University, Cincinnati, 1971; LL.B., Cleveland State University, Cleveland Marshall College of Law, 1974; admitted to the Ohio bar in 1974 and commenced practice in Cleveland; served in the Ohio house of representatives, 1975-1980; elected as a Democrat to the Ninety-seventh and to the five succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1981-January 3, 1993); was not a candidate for renomination in 1992 to the One Hundred Third Congress; is a resident of Mentor, Ohio. Dennis E. Eckart, Cleveland area attorney and former U.S. Congressman, was appointed to the Kent State University Board of Trustees by Gov. Ted Strickland. Eckart served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1980 to 1992 in such wide-ranging roles as chairman of the Small Business Subcommittee on Antitrust, Deregulation and Ecology, and as a member of the House Energy and Commerce and the Education and Labor committees. From 2000-2003, he served as president and CEO of the Greater Cleveland Growth Association. In that role he facilitated the group's merger into what is known today as the Greater Cleveland Partnership. Eckart has been an active supporter of Kent State University, which was located in his congressional district at the time of his service. When he left public service for private law practice, Eckart donated his remaining campaign contributions to create the Dennis Eckart Scholarship Fund, now administered by the university's Center for Student Involvement. The funds support undergraduate students who wish to attend workshops, conferences or other activities designed to develop their leadership skills. Eckart, his wife Sandy, and family live in Concord, Ohio.