Elizabeth J. Watters
Josephine Sitterle Failer Award
B.A. Sociology, 1987
J.D., 1990
As an Ohio State student Elizabeth Watters benefited from the Alumnae Scholarship Housing program, which award namesake Josephine Failer strongly supported. Watters repays the favor today by making college more affordable through scholarship support, and by creating an improved atmosphere of learning for students through her tireless efforts with student organizations such as Sphinx Senior Honorary and Ohio Staters.
“Elizabeth is always completely dedicated to helping students and the university in very real ways,” said Brad Myers, university registrar and a 2003 recipient of the Failer Award. “Yes, she ‘writes a check’ to help students, but she does so much more. She spends quality time with them, and assists in developing programs and activities that support them.”
Watters, a founding member of the Ohio Staters Alumni Society, serves on the steering committee for the group’s 75th anniversary and chairs the gift committee that will design and build leadership space for students at the new Ohio Union. “The student leaders of today will be the future leaders in all walks of life,” Watters says. “Student organizations like Ohio Staters are the best training ground for future success.”
As a past member of Sphinx Council, a group consisting of alumni, advisers, and student officers, Watters worked with students to manage the Sphinx endowment. Her innovative ideas established an improved model for selecting honorary members. She served on the steering committee for the Sphinx 100th anniversary and was co-chair of the centennial banquet.
Going even further to aid two of her favorite student organizations, Watters developed a scholarship for members of Sphinx and Ohio Staters that provides financial support for students to attend the Moritz College of Law.
Watters has twice served as a mentor to Moritz Scholars at the College of Law, helping them navigate the job market in both Columbus and New York, where she once practiced on Wall Street. She has served as a volunteer lecturer and as a judge for moot court competition and negotiations competitions. Every fall, she comes to campus to recruit promising students for Chester, Willcox, and Saxbe’s summer program, which provides mentoring and clerkships at the firm where Watters is a partner.
Watters is past president of the College of Law Alumni Society and has served on the college’s national council since 1992. She has also served on the selection committee for the Moritz Scholars. She is secretary/treasurer and a member of the board of governors of the Columbus Bar Association, and is past president of Women Lawyers of Franklin County and Friends of the Library of the city of Grandview Heights. Watters serves on the board of trustees for the Ohio Council on Economic Education and the Equal Justice Foundation.
Watters says volunteering is rewarding and fulfilling. “There is so much you can accomplish with a little bit of time and effort. My education experience at Ohio State was incredible and afforded me with experiences that I want to ensure exist for others. Volunteering allows me to directly connect with students and to ensure that they have the same opportunities.”
