UPDATED: April 26, 5:53 p.m.

Syracuse University has named Dickens “Deke” Mathieu its next senior vice president and general counsel — a job that involves serving as a legal adviser to the chancellor and the Board of Trustees.

“Deke scored the best at every level of the process,” said Don MacNaughton, a member of the Board of Trustees who chaired the general counsel search committee. “I’m very excited about him myself, as well as others on the committee.”

The announcement comes almost six months after Thomas Evans, current senior vice president and general counsel, said he will retire on June 30. Evans became general counsel for SU in 2006, and oversees contract management and negotiations involving the university.

Mathieu has served as senior legal counsel for Tufts University in Medford, Mass., since 2004, where he gives legal advice in areas such as human relations, labor, employment, student affairs and general litigation, according to Tufts’ website.  He will join SU on June 1 and will take over for Evans a month later, according to a Friday SU News release.

Before coming to Tufts, Mathieu was an assistant U.S. attorney and worked for the international law firm of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius in Washington, D.C., according to Tufts’ website

Mathieu received his bachelor’s degree from Amherst College and went to law school at the University of Virginia, according to Tufts’ website.

MacNaughton described Mathieu as “poised,” “articulate” and someone who “displayed good judgment.” He said the committee hired a legal recruiting firm to look for someone nationally with extensive experience, and MacNaughton cited Mathieu’s previous experience at a large law firm and the U.S. attorney’s office as “really impressive.”

The search wasn’t limited to in-house legal counsels at universities, MacNaughton said.

The position of general counsel works to regulate the flow of legal issues, he said. That means the general counsel determines what legal work can be done most cost-effectively in-house, or if an outside firm with special expertise needs to be retained for a certain issue, MacNaughton said.

During his time at Tufts, Mathieu had to deal with issues in areas such as property, employment and NCAA regulations that many universities experience, he said.

Kevin Quinn, senior vice president for public affairs, said the general counsel is a member of the chancellor’s cabinet and has a “pulse” of the campus.

The general counsel is involved with issues that affect students such as in admissions, financial aid and study abroad, he said.

Said Quinn: “There are some key areas where that office supports students.”

Published on April 26, 2013 at 2:47 pm

Contact Dylan: dmsegelb@syr.edu | @dylan_segelbaum