Assistant General Counsel Sally J. Churchill has been appointed vice president and secretary of the University, President Mary Sue Coleman and Board of Regents Chair Rebecca McGowan announced April 18.
Churchill’s appointment will be effective May 1. It was approved at the April 21 regents meeting.
“We are delighted to recommend Sally Churchill for this critical role,” Coleman said. “She is widely known and respected by her colleagues for her rigorous and insightful interpretations of law and policy, her nuanced understanding of complex issues, and her comprehensive perspective on the University.”
The vice president and secretary is a member of the senior executive management team, and works with the president and board to support the regents in carrying out governance activities in concert with the University administration.
The vice president and secretary serves as liaison between the board, the U-M community and the public, and works with individuals throughout the University and wider community to further institutional goals.
“We selected Sally Churchill after a rigorous search during which we considered a number of candidates experienced and effective in many University departments,” McGowan said. “Sally’s particular expertise in corporate governance, together with her wide portfolio of issues across the University, were key to her selection. She is, additionally, a terrific person who will bring energy and good judgment to this responsibility. President Coleman and I are very pleased to recommend her to our colleagues.”
Churchill joined the Office of the Vice President and General Counsel in 1996. In her position as assistant general counsel she has provided expert advice and counsel on corporate governance, the Regents Bylaws and Regents Ordinance, constitutional autonomy, election law, business and finance, construction, real estate and regulatory compliance.
Prior to joining the University, Churchill worked in environmental law, including positions with the Michigan Office of the Attorney General, the Michigan United Conservation Clubs, the Little Traverse Conservancy, and the law firms of Rosi, Olson & Levine in Traverse City, and as a partner at Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn in Detroit.
She has continued her work in environmental compliance and law, professionally as assistant general counsel and academically as adjunct professor in LSA, the Program in the Environment and the School of Public Health, where she teaches environmental law.
Churchill received her bachelor’s degree in general studies from U-M in 1977, a master’s degree in land use and environmental policy from Tufts University in 1980, and her juris doctor degree from the Law School in 1987.
