Lander University announced today that Crystal Rookard, a veteran attorney for state government and higher education, has been appointed to the university's newly established position of general counsel.
As Lander's general counsel, Rookard reports directly to Lander President Richard Cosentino, and will play a vital role in providing legal and strategic advice to the president, Board of Trustees and other senior administrators.
"We are delighted to welcome Crystal Rookard to our university and the Greenwood community," said President Cosentino. "She is well-versed in many of the important legal issues facing higher education today, and her experience working closely with students, faculty and administrators will serve Lander well."
A graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Law, Rookard has extensive experience in the areas of Title IX, the Clery Act, the Violence Against Women Act, and the Campus Sexual Violence Elimination (SaVE) Act. She has also conducted training courses on employee relations, human resource management and legal issues, anti-discrimination, sexual harassment, supervisory training and workplace laws.
For the past 17 years, Rookard has served as in-house legal counsel in state government. From 2000 - 2005, she was deputy general counsel for the South Carolina Department of Corrections. In 2006, she began working at Midlands Technical College in Columbia as human resources director/legal counsel before being promoted to the position of general counsel and special advisor to the Midlands president.
"I'm excited to join the Lander University family," said Rookard. "My career passion is to work for the public interest, and I firmly believe that education is a powerful means for self-improvement and improving our society."