After a long and distinguished career at Illinois Institute of Technology, Vice President and General Counsel Mary Anne Smith is retiring effective August 31, President Anderson announced on August 6. Smith is a 1977 graduate of IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law and also holds an M.S. degree in mathematics from IIT. She began her career as the university’s first in-house attorney in 1977, later becoming university counsel, then vice president and general counsel. She also serves as vice president and general counsel of IITRI. For the past several years, she has chaired the IIT Quality of Work Life Committee and the Diversity Committee.

Smith received the Julia Beveridge Award in recognition of her commitment to IIT and its community, a Distinguished Service Award from IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, and the Exelon Outstanding Corporate Counsel Award from the Chicago Bar Foundation. In 2012, she was honored by the National Association of College and University Attorneys during its 52nd Annual Conference in Chicago, receiving its Distinguished Service Award for her outstanding contributions to the work of the association and to the legal and educational professions.

“All of us at IIT will miss Mary Anne’s good advice, legal guidance and leadership. Her dedication to the quality of work life and increased diversity on campus has inspired us and made IIT a better place to work,” said Anderson. “Her institutional memory has been of incalculable value on many occasions throughout her more than thirty-five years of service to IIT, and it has been a true pleasure for me to work with her over the past five years.”

A reception in Mary Anne’s honor is planned for August 22, 3:30 – 6 pm in the McCormick Tribune Campus Center Ballroom. Please plan to stop by to say farewell.