New York University President John Sexton today announced that he has appointed Ada Meloy as the University’s Acting General Counsel, effective immediately. Ms. Meloy has been with the University’s Office of Legal Counsel since 1978, and has been the Deputy General Counsel since 1994.
John Sexton said, “This is an important post for our University, the largest private university in the United States, and we would be hard pressed to find an attorney to step into this role who is better qualified, more capable, harder working, or more committed to our community than Ada Meloy. During her years here, she has been involved in a wide range of legal matters; indeed, there are few, if any, areas of the law that touch upon our community in which she does not have experience and expertise. I am very pleased she has accepted this assignment; she has my full confidence.”
S. Andrew Schaffer — who had been NYU’s General Counsel, Senior Vice President, and Secretary for 27 years until recently accepting the post of Deputy Commissioner for Legal Matters at the New York City Police Department— said, “Ada Meloy has served NYU with great distinction for over 26 years. She has a spectacularly successful record in litigating academic matters in both the federal and state courts, and has an impressive depth of knowledge of the laws, rules, and customs governing the academy in general and NYU in particular. She is respected and admired by an entire generation of NYU deans, vice presidents, and other key faculty and administrators, as well as her fellow attorneys. She will provide effective leadership and direction as the chief legal officer of the University.”
Since coming to NYU in 1978, Ms. Meloy has been involved in such matters as academic disputes, contracts, copyright, and trust and estate law, to name but a few areas. She has litigated on behalf of the University on numerous occasions, handled the day-to-day management of the Office of Legal Counsel, and overseen the work of outside counsel.
Ms. Meloy has served extensively on committees and spoken at conferences of the National Association of College and University Attorneys. In 2000, she co-founded the Prisoners’ Reading Encouragement Project which enhances literacy and educational opportunities for inmates for which she currently serves as a director and is an active volunteer. She has been a member of the New York County Lawyers’ Association Committee on Professional Ethics, the Departmental Disciplinary Committee for the Appellate Division First Department, and the Merit Selection Panel Magistrates Screening Committee for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
She is a graduate of Wellesley College, where she was a Wellesley Scholar, and she received her J.D. from the NYU School of Law in 1973. Prior to coming to NYU, she was an associate at the firm of Cahill Gordon & Reindel.
NYU’s Office of Legal Counsel is responsible for handling all legal matters for the University. It is staffed with experienced attorneys who are recognized by their peers in the national community of higher education law, and who are familiar with the broad areas of law that pertain to the complex activities and diverse community of NYU.
The University expects to make a permanent appointment by the start of the next academic year.
New York University, located in the heart of Greenwich Village, was established in 1831 and is one of America’s leading research universities. It is the largest private university in the U.S., has among the largest number of international students in the U.S, and sends more students to study abroad than any other U.S. college or university. Through its 14 schools and colleges, NYU conducts research and provides education in the arts and sciences, law, medicine, business, dentistry, education, nursing, the cinematic and dramatic arts, music, public administration, social work, and continuing and professional studies, among other areas.