Her expertise has helped the institution navigate some of its most consequential challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic.
Donna Gooden Payne, senior vice president and general counsel at the University of Rochester, has announced her plans to retire, effective at the end of July 2026.
“I want to thank Donna for her innumerable contributions to the University and being an incredibly important and valued adviser to me and our University leaders,” says University President Sarah Mangelsdorf. “With thoughtfulness and compassion, she has counseled the institution through many complex issues that require steady and strategic legal guidance. She has supported critical initiatives and has helped ensure that our University’s mission is upheld in the face of numerous challenges to the higher education and health care environments.”
A national search for Payne’s successor will soon be underway. University general counsel has oversight for all institutional legal matters, inclusive of the Medical Center, and leads the attorneys and day-to-day operations of the University’s Office of Counsel. This role is the key legal adviser to the president, Board of Trustees, and leadership throughout the University.
Payne has served in this leadership role since joining the University in 2019, providing the legal expertise that has helped the institution navigate some of the most consequential challenges facing our campuses, including the COVID-19 pandemic, which began within her first year in Rochester. In alignment with the University’s mission and values, she and the team of attorneys she supervises advise on a wide range of legal matters in areas including human resources and labor issues; higher education governance; research, innovation commercialization and institutional intellectual property issues; health care and hospital management; student life and intercollegiate athletics; real estate; international compliance; and overall risk management.
She cochairs numerous University committees, including the University Compliance Committee, University Conflict of Interest Committee, and the AI Council. Payne has also worked on numerous critical reforms to institutional processes and policies, as well as supports University compliance with federal and state laws and regulations.
Payne is a longtime member of the National Association of College and University Attorneys, having served on its board of directors. She served on the board of directors for the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs and serves currently on the Association of American Universities (AAU) General Counsels Steering Committee.
She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a Morehead Scholar and holds a law degree from the University of Texas at Austin. She came to URochester from East Carolina University where she served as university counsel and vice chancellor for legal affairs. Locally, she volunteers at EquiCenter, the nonprofit therapeutic equestrian center in Honeoye Falls.
