Donna Gooden Payne, general counsel of the University of Rochester in New York.

The University of Rochester in New York has named Donna Gooden Payne as vice president and general counsel, effective Oct. 21. She will oversee a team of 16 lawyers.

Since 2008 Payne has been chief university counsel and vice chancellor for legal affairs at East Carolina University, overseeing a team of nine lawyers. East Carolina is a public research university in Greenville, North Carolina, and part of the University of North Carolina system.

Payne told Corporate Counsel on Thursday she was attracted to the post primarily by three factors: Rochester’s outstanding academic reputation; its “strong and growing health care enterprise, including the hospital system that offers a fascinating area of practice;” and the presence of president Sarah Mangelsdorf.

Payne said she was impressed by Mangelsdorf’s vision for the institution. The new president has been in the job less than two months and, Payne said, she has “brought an excitement to the campus.”

Mangelsdorf said in a statement, “I am thrilled to welcome Donna to the university. Her leadership and experience as chief legal counsel at a large and multifaceted research university, as well as her understanding of the complex laws and regulations affecting higher education and how they are evolving will be immensely beneficial to our institution.”

Payne said her first priority will be “assessing what needs to be done. But I anticipate walking into a very good organization with a strong team already in place. The current general counsel has done a wonderful job and is very well respected.” She succeeds Gail Norris, who is retiring after 14 years with the university.

The new general counsel said about half her staff are assigned to the university-owned teaching hospital. That differs from East Carolina, she said, where the school is affiliated with a hospital but does not own it.

The university’s statement said Payne “has provided leadership on legal issues and policy development required during evolution of Title IX and other civil rights regulatory requirements, including enforcement procedures.” The statement added Payne advised or participated in numerous investigations, provided leadership on an enterprise risk management program; and developed the legal strategy to integrate a university’s medical faculty practice of over 400 clinical providers with a regional hospital system’s physician practice. She also has served as ethics liaison to the North Carolina Ethics Commission.

Payne is a longtime member of the National Association of College and University Attorneys and recently completed service on its board of directors. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and holds a law degree from the University of Texas at Austin.