Vermont Law and Graduate School has named longtime professor and administrator Shirley Jefferson as vice president for community engagement and government affairs. Jefferson, the school's former associate dean for student affairs and diversity, becomes the school’s first vice president of color.
In her new role, Jefferson will report to President Rodney Smolla and provide strategic insight and advice to the school’s senior leadership regarding community issues; local, state and federal government matters; and efforts for the enrichment of society and intercultural understanding.
“One of the first things I learned at VLGS was that Shirley Jefferson is the school’s heart and soul,” said Smolla, who began his tenure at the school on July 1. “As VLGS begins its new direction — a graduate institution with both a law school and a graduate school — building strong relationships with the community will be more important than ever. And nobody is better suited to being the ‘ambassador’ of Vermont Law and Graduate School than Shirley Jefferson. Her passion for educating students who want to be catalysts for change is unmatched and infectious.”
Jefferson is a summa cum laude graduate of Southeastern University and earned a law degree at VLGS in 1986. She joined VLGS in 1999, initially serving as a special assistant to the admissions department and later as director of alumni affairs, and has served on the school's faculty since 2002.
Prior to joining VLGS, Jefferson served as general counsel for the United Black Fund, as associate counsel in the law office of Wilhelmina J. Rolark, and as a legislative assistant on the Committee on Judiciary to council member Rolark.