Seton Hill University President Mary C. Finger, Ed.D. has announced the appointment of Imogene L. Cathey as the University’s General Counsel. Cathey will begin her tenure in August 2015.

The General Counsel is the University’s in-house lawyer and represents Seton Hill in all legal matters. Imogene Cathey, who was selected following an extensive and competitive national search, will serve as the chief legal officer for the University, conducting legal affairs and providing legal advice and representation for Seton Hill as a member of President’s Council.

“Imogene Cathey is an extraordinarily talented professional,” President Finger said. “She has tremendous experience with a wide range of issues that will serve the University well. I am very pleased that Atty. Cathey is joining the leadership team at Seton Hill.”

“I am delighted to be part of the Seton Hill community,” Imogene Cathey said. She continued, “In establishing the Office of the General Counsel, my priority is to provide Seton Hill University with legal services of the highest quality while approaching the work ethically and professionally.”

Imogene Cathey has nearly 16 years of experience in the legal profession, much of it focused with institutions of higher education.

She comes to Seton Hill following five years of service with the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) in various roles in the Office of the General Counsel, including General Counsel.

At UNCG, Imogene Cathey has advised various members of the campus community, including the Chancellor, Board of Trustees, Executive Staff, Deans Council and other university administrators and governing bodies on all matters affecting the legal rights and responsibilities of the institution. Her legal practice has focused on matters concerning public-private partnerships, university policies and procedures, ethical obligations and conflict of interest concerns, athletics and regulatory compliance, and employment law.

Prior to her work at UNCG, Imogene Cathey served as an Assistant General Counsel at the University of Florida for six years where she advised and counseled various management and supervisory personnel in all areas of higher education law, including employment, business, and finance and transactional matters.

Imogene Cathey also served as an Associate Attorney with the law firms of Shook, Hardy & Bacon, L.L.P. and Trenam, Kemker, Scharf, Barkin, Frye, O’Neill & Mullis, P.A. in Tampa, Florida where she concentrated on representing employers on the national and regional levels in complex employment and business-related litigation matters.

An active member of the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA), Imogene Cathey has served as a member of the NACUANOTES Editorial Board, the Committee on Web Page Legal Resources, the 50th Anniversary Focus Group and the Committee on Membership and Member Services. She has also made presentations on legal topics at the NACUA Annual Conference.

In the community, Imogene Cathey has been active with the United Way of Greater Greensboro, Inc., where she was a member of the African American Leadership Initiative and the Women’s Leadership Steering Committee. Imogene Cathey also served as Director of Legal Affairs for PASSAGE Family Church in Gainesville, Florida.

Imogene Cathey earned her Juris Doctor degree (with Honors) from the University of Florida Levin College of Law and her Bachelor’s degree in political science (Summa Cum Laude) from Florida A & M University. She is admitted to practice law in Florida, the District of Columbia, and North Carolina.

Imogene Cathey is a native of Chicago and LaGrange Highlands, Illinois.