About
Ellen Cosgrove has had broad, deep and impactful experience in higher education and student affairs.
Ellen has spent the last three decades as Dean of Students at Chicago, Harvard and Yale law schools. At all three law schools, students singled out Ellen for awards honoring her positive impact on the student community, for reorganizing the schools’ approach to student services, and for recruiting, developing and empowering staff members who themselves were recognized for their outstanding service. At different points in her career, she managed the registrar operation, the career services operation, evaluated law school applications, planned recruitment initiatives, and chaired her law school’s year long centennial celebration.
As a Trustee at Mount Holyoke, Ellen spent ten years engaged in all aspects of the college’s operation. She chaired the board’s Institutional Risk Committee and Faculty Conference Committee. In addition, Ellen chaired the Strategic Planning Committee for Mount Holyoke’s Alumnae Association (an independent 501(c)3 organization) which focused on increasing engagement of the 30,000+ alumnae throughout the world. She has also served on the Association’s Board of Directors.
Ellen has consulted with and been hired by various academic institutions to assess and improve their student affairs operations. Her expertise includes strategic planning, institutional risk, change management, academic affairs, academic services, student life, emergency planning, career development, Title IX, student health and wellness, bar admission/character & fitness, academic misconduct, and ADA/accessibility.
For the past ten years, Ellen has served as a Trustee at the Practising Law Institute (PLI), a nonprofit organization chartered by the Regents of New York State to provide continuing legal education programs to attorneys. She currently chairs the Strategic Planning Committee.
Ellen has served on the boards of two national law school associations, The Association of American Law Schools (Student Services Division) and The National Association of Law Student Affairs Professionals. She has supported wellness in the legal profession through her work with an ABA Commission and two State Bar committees.
Prior to her work in law school administration, Ellen spent several years as a corporate lawyer and investment banker in New York City.
EMC Consulting LLC 