West Virginia University officials today named Tom Dorer lead in-house counsel, effective July 29th.
Dorer, who is currently associate general counsel at the University of Massachusetts, will serve as senior attorney for WVU and its three regional campuses. His responsibilities will include overseeing legal issues relating to the institutions business activities, government regulations, property interests, personnel issues, grievances and patents, among other issues. He will advise University administrators and the governing board on a wide range of matters related to legal rights and obligations.
WVU President David C. Hardesty Jr. called Dorer”an excellent choice,”citing his experience in a multi-campus system as a plus when dealing with the wide range of issues that are typical to a University campus.
“Toms academic background and his professional experience in both a higher education setting as well as with a firm that specialized in higher education policies and practices match well with the core mission and values of a national land-grant research institution,”Hardesty said.
Interim Chief of Staff Margaret Phillips, who served on the search committee, said Dorer was selected from a national field of applicants that was recently narrowed to three finalists.
“Toms integrity, professional credentials and knowledge of higher education law impressed the committee,”Phillips said.”We are pleased that he has accepted our offer and will be joining us in the very near future.”
Dorer has served as associate general counsel for the five-campus system at the University of Massachusetts for the past 7years. He has experience dealing with a broad range of issues from employment discrimination to copyright law, federal contracting, student affairs, immigration, disabilities law and regulatory compliance.
He was an associate attorney with Dow, Lohnes and Albertson in Washington, D.C., from 1992-1994 and, prior to that, served as a law clerk with the Hon. Anne E. Thompson of the U.S. District Court of New Jersey for two years.
He earned his undergraduate degree in history from Brown University, a masters in administration, planning and social policy from Harvard University and a law degree from the University of California-Berkeleys Boalt Hall School of Law, where he was notes and comments editor of the Ecology Law Quarterly. He was a teaching assistant in legal writing and research at UC and co-treasurer of the Berkeley Law Foundation, a public interest law foundation.
He is a member of the National Association of College and University Attorneys, serving on the program, publications and professional development committees, and is a member of the Boston and Massachusetts Bar Associations.
Dorer will report to the president and serve as a member of the Presidents Cabinet.
He assumes the position held on an interim basis by M. Roberta Brandt, following former General Counsel Jon Reeds return to teaching last August.