Lori E. Fox, a New York native who has broad experience in higher education law, has been named General Counsel for Teachers College. Fox, who has served since 2003 as Deputy General Counsel to the J. Paul Getty Trust, an international arts institution based in Los Angeles, will assume her new post on February 23^rd.

Fox’s resume also includes nine years as Associate General Counsel at Washington University in St. Louis and a stint on the Board of Directors of the National Association of College and University Attorneys.

 

“We are delighted that Lori Fox is joining Teachers College as General Counsel,” said Teachers College President Fuhrman in announcing Fox’s appointment. “She is a topflight legal professional whose experience includes involvement in all aspects of college relationships with faculty and students, employment, regulatory compliance, intellectual property, institutional governance, and more. Lori also brings a genuine love of education to her new position, as well as a keen understanding of and appreciation for the mission of Teachers College.”

 

Fox will take over the General Counsel’s duties from Janice Robinson, who this past year was promoted to the position of Vice President for Diversity and Community. Robinson, who continues in her new role, has served as General Counsel while the College conducted the search for her successor.

 

“All of us at TC owe a significant debt of gratitude to Janice, who established and built the office of General Counsel at the College and who has worked tirelessly in that role on behalf of the TC community,” Fuhrman said.

 

Fox said she is “thrilled” to be joining TC.  “College lawyering is a uniquely satisfying legal practice: it combines serving an institution with an important mission, smart and dedicated colleagues, and diverse and often complex legal issues.   I’m delighted to be returning to campus.   I also find this a particularly exciting time to be joining an institution that is committed to educational opportunity and educational leadership.  College counsel are service providers; I look forward to supporting TC’s administration, faculty, and staff in their work.”

 

Fox, who served as an adjunct faculty member in Washington University’s political science department, where she developed and taught a well-regarded undergraduate course  on the American legal system, says she also would like to teach at TC at some point down the road.

 

The new General Counsel says she’s also very happy to be coming East. “I grew up in Eastchester and attended law school in New York, so I’m returning home. My young nieces and nephews, who all live in or near the city, are excited that Aunt Lori’s coming back to New York.”

 

Fox earned her undergraduate degree at Yale University and her law degree at New York University Law School, where she made Law Review and the Order of the Coif, an honor society.  She served as a federal judicial law clerk and was a Washington, DC, litigator before turning to the non-profit world.

 

Fox’s undergraduate studies included coursework on education policy, and she spent her junior year at the U. S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare.  In 1980 and 1981, she worked as a research associate on an academic study of the creation and implementation of the U.S. Department of Education.

 

Fox is a member of the Bar in New York, the District of Columbia and California.