Arizona Board of Regents members on Thursday approved the appointment of B. Glenn George to serve as the University of Arizona's vice president for legal affairs and general counsel. 

George, who is currently a law professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, will begin her new position at the UA in May. 

"I am honored and delighted," George said after her appointment was approved by Regents on Thursday. "It is a wonderful university and a tremendous leadership team." 

Having been selected after a national search, George fills the position that has remained vacant since Judith E. Leonard left the UA last year, taking a position at the Smithsonian Institution. 

George, nationally known for her scholarship in the areas of employment law and sports law, also will hold a tenured faculty position in the UA's James E. Rogers College of Law.

As vice president for legal affairs and general counsel, George will report directly to UA President Robert N. Shelton and will be responsible for providing advice and support to Shelton and other members of the University administration as well as regents.

"I had visted the Southwest and enjoy it, and I had interactions with President Shelton earlier and knew he would be a wonderful president to work with," George said.

She will oversee litigation involving the UA and will be responsible for a range of legal issues, including those involving institutional governance, intellectual property and licensing, research contracts and compliance, international transactions, employment matters, charitable giving, student-related issues, real estate, taxation and government regulations.

At the University of North Carolina, George held a range of administrative appointments. She served as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, officer at the university from 2002 to 2006. She also served as the university's interim general counsel for a one-year period beginning in 2002. She was also the interim Equal Employment Opportunity/Americans with Disabilities Act officer in 2006. 

Prior to her appointments at the University of North Carolina, George was the associate vice president for human relations and risk management for the University of Colorado system. There, she reported directly to the president of the system and was the fiduciary of the self-insurance fund and responsible for handling all claims against the institution.

George emphasized that she did not serve as legal counsel at Colorado, though she was responsible for the risk management fund that supported all legal claims and legal work.

Also in her role as associate vice president, George was the Colorado university system's sexual harassment officer and the president's liaison to the System Staff Council. 

She facilitated the review and overhaul of the health care plan, chaired the implementation of the new pay-for-performance system for classified employees and developed a management training program for academic chairs.

Previously, George was a member of the law faculty at University of North Carolina, serving in the School of Law from 1999 to 2006. She also has served as a faculty member at the College of William & Mary and the University of Colorado.

George cited her extensive experience as a faculty member as a key qualification for her new position. 

"I was a faculty member for a good portion of my career, which is probably unique in this kind of position," George said, noting that she also has been involved in issues related to faculty governance.

"It certainly gives me an appreciation and insight into the academic role and the mission of the University from a faculty's perspective," she said. "I think that will be very helpful." 

George, who earned her undergraduate degrees in political science and psychology from the University of North Carolina, earned her juris doctor from Harvard University School of Law.

George's husband, Gene R. Nichol, a scholar on constitutional law, federal courts, civil rights and election law,  has been offered a tenured position with the UA College of Law.

George said that because the couple has a daughter with one more year in high school, Nichol will relocate to Tucson after her graduation.