Higher Education Symposium

This is the first webinar in the Higher Education Symposium webinar series. Program Description TBD. Speakers tentatively include Roberto Braceras; Gerry Leone, General Counsel, University of Massachusetts system; David Bunis, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, WPI. 

Higher education institutions must navigate an ever-increasing array of regulatory burdens and government enforcement realities. The decentralized structure of many universities also makes compliance planning, as well as internal investigations into alleged breakdowns, particularly challenging.

The panelists will discuss key areas of focus for higher education internal investigations, including allegations of faculty and executive conflicts of interest, research misconduct, Title IX violations, and export controls and sanctions matters. They also will explore unique aspects of higher education, the various constituencies that may have an interest in the outcome, and how these factors impact the planning and completion of internal investigations.

Speakers include: Jennifer Chunias; external panelists TBD.

Our panelists will address new developments in labor and employment law affecting colleges and universities.  The panelists will summarize and discuss the employment aspects of Title IX, recent developments relating to union organizing and collective bargaining, the beginning of job-protected leave under the Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Act, developments under the Massachusetts Equal Pay Act, and COVID-related issues under OSHA.

Speakers include: Christina Lewis; Scott Merrill, Office of the General Counsel/Human Resource Management, Northeastern University; Lili Palacios-Baldwin, Deputy General Counsel, Labor, Employment & Litigation, Tufts University.

The federal False Claims Act (FCA) has long been a powerful tool for the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate and police activity financed with federal dollars. Recent years have seen high-profile FCA enforcement actions against higher education institutions receiving federal funds for a variety of purposes, including research grants and financial aid programs. The risk of FCA scrutiny is further heightened for institutions receiving Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds. Join us for a discussion about recent enforcement developments and ways that institutions can mitigate risk.

Speakers include: Annie Railton; Courtney Orazio; Alicyn Cooley, Executive Director, Program on Corporate Compliance and Enforcement, NYU Law, Former Deputy Chief of the Business & Securities Fraud Section, EDNY USAO; Jeff Seo, Assistant Provost for Research Compliance, Northeastern University.

Program description TBD.

Speakers include: Tom LaFond; Brad Wakeman, Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer, Williams College.

Keynote presentation to conclude the Higher Education Symposium Webinar Series. Program Description TBD.

Speaker: Laurie Leshin, President, WPI.