Executive Staff Assistant

Executive Staff Assistant Position Summary

The College of Law Executive Staff Assistant provides high-level administrative, operational, and project support to the Dean and Chief of Staff. The position manages complex executive calendars, confidential communications, institutional reporting processes, and strategic initiatives on behalf of the Dean's Office. The Executive Staff Assistant serves as a key coordinator between senior leadership, faculty, staff, students, alumni, donors, university administrators, and external constituents, ensuring the efficient operation of the Dean's Office and the timely execution of institutional priorities.

• Manage and coordinate the calendars, meeting requests, travel arrangements, reimbursements, and priority commitments of the Dean and Chief of Staff.
• Balance competing priorities and independently resolve scheduling conflicts.
• Maintain a shared system for tracking executive priorities, action items, communications, deadlines, and follow-up assignments.
• Sort, review, prioritize, and route incoming correspondence and communications.
• Gather, screen, and relay information to the Dean or Chief of Staff as appropriate.
• Assist in preparing reports, surveys, briefing materials, presentations, and executive correspondence.
• Keep the Dean and Chief of Staff apprised of important events, issues, deadlines, and emerging matters.
• Represent the Dean's Office in interactions with university administrators, faculty, staff, students, alumni, donors, and external constituents.

• Support the Dean and Chief of Staff in coordinating strategic initiatives, operational projects, and institutional priorities.
• Maintain project plans, dashboards, timelines, status reports, and tracking tools.
• Track requests, assignments, and deadlines arising from Executive Leadership Team and other leadership meetings.
• Coordinate collection of information from administrative and academic units.
• Monitor compliance with reporting deadlines and facilitate required submissions.
• Assist Chief of Staff with ABA, AALS, U.S. News, governance, and other institutional reporting processes.
• Prepare issue summaries, briefing materials, decision-support documents, and executive reports.
• Maintain organized records and version control for reports, submissions, and executive projects.

• Serve as liaison to executive assistants and administrative staff across Michigan State University.
• Coordinate communications with the President's Office, Provost's Office, vice presidents, deans, and major administrative units.
• Coordinate communications with Advancement and Alumni Relations.
• Serve as liaison to external organizations including AALS, ABA, Big Ten Law Schools, and the State Bar of Michigan.
• Serve as a point of contact for faculty, staff, students, alumni, donors, trustees, and visitors.
• Draft routine correspondence and acknowledgements on behalf of the Dean.
• Coordinate and track responses to inquiries and ensure timely follow-up.
• Maintain confidentiality, professionalism, civility, and discretion in all communications.

• Establish and maintain confidential physical and electronic files.
• Support the Dean’s role in faculty appointments, promotions, retention, annual reviews, and tenure-related processes.
• Maintain faculty and governance records and ensure compliance with established deadlines.
• Assist with responses to confidential and time-sensitive matters, including FOIA requests, legal matters, and OIE issues.
• Schedule and support faculty meetings, leadership meetings, Faculty Advisory Council meetings, and other committees.
• Prepare, assemble, and distribute meeting materials.
• Maintain meeting records, follow-up items, and action trackers.
• Provide meeting summaries and follow-up memoranda as requested.

• Hire and co-supervise student workers in the Dean ’s Suite.

This position requires occasional availability outside of standard business hours to support critical operations, respond to urgent…