Seton Hall University School of Law recently made two hires: Deborah R. Edwards, as executive director of diversity and inclusion, and Keith Cook, as assistant dean of alumni and development. Each Started on Sept. 5.

Edwards previously served as counsel to the New Jersey Attorney General. As counsel, she was responsible for oversight of an 8,000-person department, and providing legal and operational guidance to directors and managers in all divisions. She established the Attorney General's Diversity Council and Mentor Program. Edwards' role in overseeing the Division on Civil Rights and the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity, as well as providing guidance on workplace conduct and workplace morale, provides her with the experience and perspective important to her new role in higher education. Edwards' earlier legal career includes serving as section chief in the Employment Counseling Section of the Division of Law, a court executive and EEO officer in the Burlington Vicinage, and numerous Department of Law & Public Safety positions. Edwards received her B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, and her J.D. from Villanova.

Cook previously served as director of gift planning for the Pennsylvania State University, where he managed the university's $120 million life income program. Previously, Cook was associate director of gift planning for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, director of development for Rutgers University's School of Arts & Sciences, and associate director of gift planning for the Rutgers University Foundation. Cook was a litigation associate at Gill & Chamas in Woodbridge and municipal public defender for North Brunswick Township. Cook is a member of the New Jersey and U.S. District of New Jersey Bar Associations, and an active member of the Partnership for Philanthropic Planning and Centre Region Estate Planning Council. A native of New Jersey, Cook received a B.A. in history and political science, and an Ed.M. in social and philosophical foundations of education from Rutgers University. He received his J.D. from Seton Hall University School of Law in 2000.