PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Eileen Goldgeier, an accomplished university attorney and advisor with more than 26 years of experience offering legal guidance on a broad range of higher education issues, has been appointed Brown University’s next vice president and general counsel, effective Oct. 1, 2018.

In her role, Goldgeier will serve as Brown’s chief legal officer, advising the University’s senior officers and members of the faculty and staff on a broad range of legal and strategic matters, as well as leading the team of attorneys and other staff members in the Office of the Vice President and General Counsel.

A Brown Class of 1985 alumna who earned a bachelor of arts in environmental studies, Goldgeier currently serves as vice chancellor and general counsel at North Carolina State University. Brown President Christina Paxson said Goldgeier’s knowledge, expertise and judgment stood out among an outstanding pool of candidates.

“Not only does she bring deep experience managing the spectrum of legal and strategic issues directly relevant to a major research university, Eileen Goldgeier will provide clear, creative and collaborative leadership to advance Brown’s priorities,” Paxson said. “She offers a national presence as a highly esteemed general counsel. As an alumna, she also brings a direct connection to the Brown community —  I am delighted to welcome her as a member of the University’s senior leadership team.”

Goldgeier began in her current role at N.C. State in March 2010 after earlier service from 1997 to 2003 as the university’s associate general counsel. As vice chancellor and general counsel, she served as chief legal counsel, advised university leaders and members of the Board of Trustees and managed a staff of seven attorneys and five support staff.

Among other accomplishments, Goldgeier collaborated with the Chancellor’s Cabinet in leading an enterprise risk management process, developed an Office of General Counsel strategic plan, advised on the creation of an organizational compliance and integrity program, and handled numerous First Amendment and Title IX issues.

Earlier in her career, she was general counsel at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, assistant general counsel at Johns Hopkins University and an associate at Venable, LLP.

Goldgeier said meeting with faculty and staff during the search process offered the opportunity to gain an understanding of the Brown’s current priorities and the role that the Office of the Vice President and General Counsel can play in advancing university initiatives. She was inspired by the University’s leadership and strategic goals, she said.

“Through the search process, I learned how Brown has grown since my days as a student — with an amazing research portfolio, its economic development and entrepreneurial activities, the development of the Jewelry District, its diversity and inclusion initiatives, and much more,” Goldgeier said. “I look forward to bringing a collaborative approach to supporting campus partners from a legal perspective while they pursue and develop many dynamic relationships that bring risks, rewards and opportunities.”

As an undergraduate at Brown, Goldgeier earned the William A. Gaston Prize in Environmental Studies and graduated with honors. Co-captain of the women’s lacrosse team, she won awards as an Academic All American district selection and as outstanding woman athlete, and she was named to the All-Ivy League lacrosse team three times.

In addition to her bachelor’s degree, Goldgeier holds a J.D. from Emory University School of Law. She is a member of the National Association of College and University Attorneys and the Association of Corporate Counsel.

Goldgeier succeeds Brown’s long-time chief legal officer, Beverly Ledbetter, who will retire this summer four decades after joining the University as its first general counsel in 1978.

“I have admired Beverly Ledbetter for my entire career as she has been a role model and leader in the higher education legal world,” Goldgeier said. “I am honored and privileged to be given the opportunity to serve Brown as its next vice president and general counsel, and I thank President Paxson for having the trust and confidence in me to follow Beverly.”

Goldgeier will report directly to Paxson. Her appointment follows a national search led by Paxson and Russell Carey, executive vice president for planning and policy, which included interviews with Brown faculty and staff and members of the Corporation of Brown University.