Dean of Students Ellen Cosgrove received the Suzanne L. Richardson Staff Recognition Award during Class Day exercises. She was selected by the class of 2009 for her demonstrated commitment to the student experience and her concern for students’ lives and work at HLS.
Praising her leadership and noting as evidence the nomination of three other Dean of Students Office staff, Acting Dean Howell Jackson ’82 said Cosgrove’s, “understanding of our students [is] unmatched, and her vision and talent have helped make HLS the school it is today.”
This is the second time Cosgrove has received the award. She was first given the honor in 2006.
Cosgrove advocates for law students within the Law School and the University and counsels students on academic and personal matters. She and her staff coordinate and support student services, programming and residence life. She also serves as liaison between students and the Administrative Board.
She received her J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School and her bachelor’s degree from Mount Holyoke College. After working for LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae in New York, Cosgrove returned to the University of Chicago Law School as Dean of Students in 1995, where she also received an award from graduating students in recognition of her work. She came to HLS in 2004. She has served on the Association of American Law Schools’ Executive Committee for Student Services, and is currently a Trustee at Mount Holyoke College.
Cosgrove is the 14th recipient of the staff award, and the sixth since the award was renamed for her predecessor, the late Suzanne Richardson, dean of students at HLS from 1993-2004.
See tribute to Suzanne L. Richardson in the Harvard Law Bulletin.