President Bollinger has announced that Columbia University’s General Counsel, Jane Booth, will be retiring at the end of the Spring 2023 semester.

President Bollinger announced today that Columbia’s General Counsel, Jane Booth (CLS ‘76), will be retiring from her position after 13 years of service to the Columbia community. Bollinger remarked on Booth’s illustrious career in the U.S. Attorney’s Office and as a member of Attorney General Janet Reno’s Health Care Advisory Council in his email announcement, stating that Booth’s “tireless commitment to furthering Columbia’s mission” is greatly appreciated. The full text of Bollinger’s email can be found below. 

Booth joined Columbia in 2002 and was appointed to General Counsel in 2009. In her time as a part of Columbia’s Office of the General Counsel, Booth played a vital role in numerous projects at Columbia, including the creation of the Manhattanville campus, the expansion of Columbia’s Global Centers, and the Columbia Climate School.

Booth is also a Columbia alumna, having graduated from Columbia Law School in 1976. Prior to joining Columbia, Booth served as the chief of the civil division of the United States Attorney’s Office, as well as a member of Attorney General Janet Reno’s Health Care Advisory Council. Bollinger cited Booth’s “deep expertise” in a variety of areas of law, including research integrity, health care compliance, and environmental and safety issues as an “essential source of wisdom.” President Bollinger has not announced Booth’s replacement at this time.

Email from President Bollinger to the Columbia community at 2:05 pm EDT:

Dear fellow members of the Columbia community:

I write to share that, after an exceptional 13-year tenure as Columbia University’s General Counsel, Jane Booth has informed me of her decision to retire at the conclusion of the 2022-2023 academic year.

Jane joined Columbia in 2002 and was appointed General Counsel in 2009, following a brief period of interim service in the role. Before Columbia, Jane started her legal career as a clerk for Federal Judge Leonard Sand in the Southern District of New York. Her extensive appellate and civil and criminal litigation experience includes positions at the head of the Civil Appellate Unit of Legal Aid and the Appeals Unit for the United States Attorney’s Office. She also served as Chief of the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and a member of Attorney General Janet Reno’s Health Care Advisory Council. Jane has deep expertise in a variety of areas of the law, including research integrity, health care compliance, HIPAA, the False Claims Act, and environmental and safety issues. She received her JD from Columbia Law School, an MA from the University of Toronto, and a BA from Fordham University.

It would be impossible to capture within this message the scope and scale of Jane’s contributions to Columbia as General Counsel, but it is no exaggeration to say that she has been deeply involved in and instrumental to every significant accomplishment of the University during her tenure. Her leadership and guidance were essential to the creation and realization of the Manhattanville campus, the expansion of our Global Centers and engagement with the world, and the establishment of many innovative new initiatives, including most recently the launch of the Columbia Climate School. She has supported the institution at every turn as we have continued to build our core academic strengths, recruit and elevate talented faculty from diverse backgrounds, and expand access through student financial aid. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Jane was an essential source of wisdom to me and so many others as we forged our way through unprecedented challenges to our University. Always, she has acted in the best interests of Columbia and the members of this community.

Jane’s sage counsel and incisive legal mind have been vitally important to me and to Columbia over these last 13 years. We have much to accomplish together in the year ahead, but for now, on behalf of the entire University community, it is a pleasure to offer Jane my profound thanks for her tireless commitment to furthering Columbia’s mission and securing its future.

Sincerely,

Lee C. Bollinger

Low Library via Bwog Archives