University of Richmond Law Professor Mary L. Heen Appointed General Counsel of AAUP
July 6, 2006
Mary L. Heen, a professor at the University of Richmond School of Law, has been appointed general counsel of the American Association of University Professors, the 45,000-member professional association of faculty, graduate students, librarians and academic professionals based in Washington, D.C.
Heen will have overall responsibility for AAUP’s legal work, including monitoring legal developments in higher education, apprising AAUP of emerging legal issues with implications for labor and employment law, freedom of expression, intellectual property rights, and preparation and review of legal briefs. She will also serve on AAUP’s executive committee.
“Mary is one of the most exceptional academic lawyers in the country, a person admired on our campus for her judgment and leadership as a professor and a lawyer,” said Rodney Smolla, law school dean. “She has a lifelong commitment to academic freedom, shared governance and the values of the American academy.”
Heen will continue her academic duties at Richmond while serving a two-year term with AAUP, which Smolla called “a wonderful example of her strong dedication to public service and the high value we place on public service at our law school.”
Founded in 1915, AAUP has helped shape American higher education by developing standards and procedures that maintain quality of education while supporting academic freedom and shared governance of colleges and universities.