About SUNY

Senior Vice Chancellor, General Counsel & Secretary

William F. Howard

William F. Howard joined SUNY in March 2011 and now serves as the Board-appointed Senior Vice Chancellor, General Counsel and Secretary of the University.  

In addition to the Office of General Counsel, Bill oversees the System Administration offices of Human Resources, Employee Relations, Internal Audit, Compliance, Special Events, and the Charter Schools Institute.  As Secretary of the University he serves as the senior liaison to and support for the Board of Trustees, and manages the Board office.

Mr. Howard was previously the chief counsel at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and associate vice chancellor and deputy general counsel for that university.  He also previously served as deputy general counsel, as well as interim vice president and general counsel, at the George Washington University.  Earlier in his career, Mr. Howard served as an assistant attorney general in the Educational Affairs Division of the Maryland Office of the Attorney General, as a law clerk for the United States Court of Appeals in Baltimore, Maryland, and as an associate in the Corporate Department in a large private law firm.

Mr. Howard received his bachelor’s degree in Economics with high honors from Michigan State University and his J.D. magna cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School.