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A pair of universities each appointed a new top legal boss this week.

Brigham Young University named Steven Sandberg, who has been in-house at the Provo, Utah, college since 2006, as assistant to the president and general counsel, while North Carolina State University named Allison Newhart vice chancellor and GC, effective Feb. 1. Newhart joins the Raleigh, North Carolina, school from Pennsylvania State University, where she serves as associate GC.

Sandberg, who received his undergraduate degree at BYU, is being promoted from the role of deputy GC. In his new position, he will oversee all legal, compliance, risk management, audit and regulatory affairs for the university and coordinate legal affairs for BYU–Hawaii, BYU–Idaho and LDS Business College, according to a statement announcing his hire.

A 2003 graduate of Columbia Law School, Sandberg clerked for Judge Andrew Kleinfeld of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Fairbanks, Alaska, and practiced in the Irvine, California, office of Morrison & Foerster before joining BYU's legal office.

“Steve is well prepared for this new assignment,” university president Kevin Worthen said in the news release. “He is one of the brightest legal minds I have met, and he has extensive experience in dealing with important and sensitive legal issues. He also has a gift for bringing people together to solve difficult issues.”

Sandberg succeeds a retiring Michael Orme.

At Penn State, Newhart, NC State's new GC, focuses on labor and employment matters, student affairs, litigation, athletics and Title IX and Clery Act compliance, according to the statement announcing her hire. In her new role, she will lead a team of attorneys providing legal services and advice to NC State on matters ranging from compliance and ethics to business contracts and employment law, the statement added.

Prior to joining Penn State in 2013, Newhart had been a labor and employment associate at Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr in Philadelphia for about 7.5 years, representing and counseling colleges and universities in litigation, risk management, compliance and employment matters, according to her LinkedIn profile.

In the news release, Newhart said she is pleased to continue her service at a public land-grant university.

“NC State is uniquely positioned—both as a land-grant institution and a major research university—to widen access to higher education and benefit society through the threefold mission of teaching, research and service,” she said. “I truly believe in the land-grant mission.”

Newhart earned her degree from Villanova University School of Law (now the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law).