Richard Lovering, an attorney with decades of experience working with Kenyon at the Columbus law firm Bricker & Eckler LLP, has been appointed the College’s vice president and general counsel for the upcoming academic year. Lovering will work within the Office of the President and serve as a member of the College’s Senior Staff.
During the time of his appointment, Lovering will be Kenyon’s central legal contact and will assess the College’s coordination of legal affairs, both providing counsel within his own areas of expertise and consulting with outside counsel for more specialized matters. Lovering will assess the benefits, including potential cost savings, of complementing outside counsel with internal legal expertise. Kenyon has long utilized outside counsel for their expertise in the wide-ranging laws and regulations that apply to colleges and universities, from civil rights and privacy, to employment and labor, to real estate and investment.
Since the early 1990s, Lovering has won several jury trials and other federal and state cases for Kenyon. In 2003, a $1.1 million award of damages in a case involving the theft of rare books, manuscripts and other materials from the College’s special collections was the largest jury verdict ever awarded in Knox County.
“Rich has a long history working with the College through Bricker & Eckler, and I’m excited to welcome him to the Kenyon team,” said President Sean Decatur. “Rich’s expertise and experience in the different areas of law affecting higher education will help Kenyon use our resources more efficiently and effectively.”
“Kenyon has a unique culture of integrity and caring for students and employees,” Lovering said. “It’s a great professional pleasure to finally work on Middle Path.”
Lovering joined Bricker & Eckler in 1980 and retired from the firm as a partner in 2020. After earning a Bachelor of Arts in 1976 from Connecticut’s Trinity College, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and majored in economics and history, Lovering received his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law, as well as a Master of Business Administration from UVA’s Darden School of Business. He has been a member of the Columbus Bar Association and Ohio State Bar Association since 1980 and was regularly listed in “Best Lawyers in America” and “Super Lawyers.”