Saint Joseph’s University Appoints Tracey S. Pachman New General Counsel

Saint Joseph’s University has appointed Tracey S. Pachman, J.D., to serve as the University’s General Counsel, the result of a thorough national search. Pachman, who joins Saint Joseph’s on April 14, brings nearly 20 years of deep and varied higher education legal experience to the University. She specializes in contracts, intellectual property, research, employment and student matters, and other higher education law issues.

Pachman succeeds Marianne Schimelfenig, J.D., who has served as the University’s General Counsel since 2008.

“Tracey rose to the top of a very impressive candidate pool throughout the search process because of her wide breadth of legal knowledge and experience in different settings and industries,” said President Mark C. Reed, Ed.D. “Tracey stood out as a leader who has a strong command of the ever-evolving legal and regulatory issues affecting higher education today.”

Prior to Pachman’s tenure at Villanova, where she served as deputy general counsel since 2014, she was the assistant general counsel for ARAMARK, serving the K-12 and higher education business, and held positions at Comcast as senior counsel and Pepper Hamilton LLP as an associate.

“I am very honored to join Saint Joseph’s University,” said Pachman. “I am impressed by the University’s focus on personal excellence, service and engaged citizenship, as well as its strategic plan that focuses on elevating the excellence of key academic programs and centers.”

Pachman earned her bachelor of arts degree from Bryn Mawr College and her juris doctor from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law. She has been active in the National Association of College and University Attorneys, the leading higher education law organization that shapes legal thinking for the Academy; WOMEN’S WAY, the Greater Philadelphia region’s leading nonprofit dedicated to the advancement of women, girls and gender equality; and other local and civic organizations.