Leaving a legal legacy: General Counsel Eileen Jennings to retire in July after 29 years

Rebecca Crawford

Some say life moves slowly in small college towns like Mount Pleasant, but for University General Counsel Eileen Jennings, a planned five-year stay turned into a three-decade career.

In her role as general counsel, Jennings serves as the school's chief legal officer and coordinates all university legal services.

Jennings has announced her plans to retire in July after 29 years at CMU.

Before coming to CMU, Jennings spent time as dean of students at a small college in Vermont, and said the lack of good legal advice available to universities is what sent her back to law school.

"I knew how hard it was to get any good legal advice from someone who understood anything about higher education," she said. "I was frustrated with outside counsel who didn't know anything about colleges or universities."

Jennings' original plan after law school was to provide legal service in an area where there were several small colleges and universities. After that fell through, she looked to former University President Harold Abel for assistance in finding work.

Jennings had worked with Abel two or three times before, and hoped he could find her work in Washington, D.C.

Abel then persuaded Jennings to come to Mount Pleasant to interview for the position of university counsel.

Balancing other work

Besides serving at CMU, Jennings also is a member of the NCAA Division I Committee of Infractions, which investigates alleged violations by member institutions. She is in her third year on the committee which meets every other month.

"It's real interesting work," she said. "But I will tell you, it's a huge amount of work."

Jennings says for every hearing, it takes on average between 10 to 20 hours of reading and preparation.

Plans for retirement

After retirement, Jennings plans to donate more of her time to the local causes she volunteers with, including the Rotary Club of Mount Pleasant.

Jennings is the Rotary chairwoman of District 6310 for all matching grants. In that role, Jennings oversees and approves all Rotary programs that require funding, whether the project is local or international.

Bill Parlberg, member of the Rotary Club of Frankenmuth said Jennings is a good fit for the position.

"She's uniquely qualified," Parlberg said. "She's very detail orientated and she's done a great job."

Jennings also will become the district governor for district 6310, which encompasses overseeing 32 Rotary clubs and their 1,500 members.

Jennings plans to reside in Mount Pleasant after retirement.

university@cm-life.com

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