Sally J. Churchill, J.D.
The vice president and secretary of the University is Sally J. Churchill, J.D.
As vice president and secretary and as an executive officer, Ms. Churchill serves under the direction of the president with responsibility to the Board of Regents. She is the liaison officer for the Board of Regents, responsible for facilitation, coordination and management of policy matters, governance, and communications pertaining to the Board and the president and executive officers of the University.
Ms. Churchill received her B.G.S. degree from the University of Michigan in 1977 and her J.D. degree from the University of Michigan Law School in 1987. She also holds a master’s degree in land use and environmental policy from Tufts University. Following private practice in the field of environmental law, she joined the University of Michigan in 1996 as an assistant general counsel in the Office of the Vice President and General Counsel, where she provided advice on environmental law, corporate governance and the Regents’ Bylaws and Regents’ Ordinance, as well as election law, business and finance, construction, real estate and regulatory compliance. She was appointed vice president and secretary of the University in May 2005. Ms. Churchill is also an adjunct associate professor in the Program in the Environment in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, where she teaches environmental law.
The duties of the vice president and secretary of the University are spelled out in the Regents’ Bylaws 2.11:
Under the direction of the president, the vice president and secretary of the university will coordinate the business affairs of the Board and facilitate effective communication between the members of the Board and the executive officers.
The vice president and secretary of the university will be responsible to the Board, and will perform such functions as may be necessary for the proper and legal exercise of the Board’s authority. The vice president and secretary of the university will duly execute for and on behalf of the Regents of the University of Michigan or the University of Michigan such instruments and documents which would devolve to a corporate officer and would be usual to that office.
The vice president and secretary of the university will be the official custodian of the minutes and all supporting documents of the Board of Regents and of the Seal of the University of Michigan. The vice president and secretary of the university will, in consultation with the vice president and general counsel, determine the appropriateness of the use of the Seal by parties within and outside the University.
The vice president and secretary of the university will perform such other duties as the Board or the president may assign.