5 NYC Lawyer Presidents Gather to Discuss Unique Skill Sets Lawyers Bring to the Higher Ed C-Suite

On Wednesday, September 13, 2023, the New York Fellows of the American Bar Foundation held a program featuring a panel of lawyer presidents who are leading New York City’s top institutions. Participants were: Laura Rosenbury, the new President of Barnard College; Karol Mason, President of John Jay School of Criminal Justice; Frank Wu, President of Queens College; Michelle Anderson, President of Brooklyn College; and John Sexton, President Emeritus of NYU. Patricia Salkin served as moderator of the program, providing background information from May it Please the Campus: Lawyers Leading Higher Education.

In addition to Presidents Rosenbury, Mason, Wu and Anderson, other lawyers leading NYC institutions today include: Laura Sparks at Cooper Union, Tatiana Tetlow at Fordham, and Linda Mills at NYU.

The program recording can be accessed here: https://vimeo.com/864443744/5d3ec63042?share=copy

Chris V. Rey, J.D. Appointed President of Barber-Scotia College

Attorney Chris V. Rey has been appointed President of Barber-Scotia College in Alabama effective July 17, 2023. Barber-Scotia is one of the oldest HBCUs.

Rey served three terms as the Mayor of Spring Lake, North Carolina, having been the youngest person elected to that position. In 2016 he ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate. After his discharge from the Army, he worked as an intern in the office of Rep. John Lewis, a leader of the Civil Rights movement, and he attended law school.

He retired from the military in 2022, having served in both the U.S. Army and the National Guard in the computer technology field where he became Signal Corps officer. He was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan where he led soldiers. Upon retirement he started a consulting company to provide strategic direction for clients.

No stranger to higher education, Rey serves on the Board of Governors for Charisma University, Board of Visitors for Fayetteville State University, and the Board of Directors for William & Mary University Alumni Association. He has also taught law courses as an adjunct professor for more than a decade. Rey is also the founder of the HBCU Internship Foundation, Inc.

Rey earned his JD from William & Mary College of Law

President Glenda Glover of Tennessee State University Plans to Retire

After spending 10 years at the helm of the HBCU she graduated from, attorney Glenda Glover has announced plans to retire as President of Tennessee State University end the of the spring 2024 semester. When she assumed office on January 2, 2013, she became the first female president of TSU (although Portia Holmes Shield served as interim president immediately prior). According to her bio, Dr. Glover is one of two African American Women in the country to hold a PhD-CPA-JD combination. She earned her JD from Georgetown University.

Prior to joining TSU, Glover served as Dean of the College of Business at Jackson State University and as Chair of the Department of Accounting at Howard University. In the private sector she held senior leadership positions at engineering and tax firms and at a major public utility. She has also served on the boards of several publicly traded companies.