Diploma of Distinction Ceremony

Alumni Meeting
Monday June 13, 7:00pm
IHS Alumni Peter Kirsanow — Class of ’72 will be honored.
Don’t miss the June 13th, IHS Alumni Association Meeting. Join other alums on Monday at 7:00 pm, in the High School Media room, where the Diploma of Distinction will be awarded followed by refreshments and a general meeting!
Peter N. Kirsanow, graduate of the Independence High School, class of 1972, will be honored. Currently, Peter is a partner with the law firm of Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff, working within its Labor & Employment Practice Group in Cleveland, Ohio. He is a black civil-rights commissioner and a member of the United States Commission on Civil Rights (a part-time appointment), serving his fourth consecutive 6-year term, to which he was reappointed to by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer in December 2019. He is the longest-serving member among the current commission. He was previously a member of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) from January 2006 to January 2008.
President Bush appointed Kirsanow to the five-member NLRB in 2006 for two years, where he was involved with significant decisions including Oakwood Healthcare, Inc., Dana/Metaldyne and Oil Capital Sheet Metal, Inc. In 2008, Kirsanow returned to the Cleveland law firm of Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff LLP, where he is a partner with the firm’s Labor & Employment Practice Group and a member of the Diversity & Inclusion Committee. He represents management in employment-related litigation, contract negations, NLRB proceedings and EEO matters.
Kirsanow has written articles for National Review since 2003. Kirsanow testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the nominations of John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court, and at the confirmation hearing for Jeff Sessions’ nomination for United States Attorney General.
Biography courtesy of Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Kirsanow#Education)