St. Francis College appointed Hayley B. Dryer as Vice President and General Counsel, effective August 23, 2021. Dryer reports directly to Miguel Martinez-Saenz, Ph.D., President of St. Francis College, as a member of his cabinet.

In her new position, Dryer provides professional advice on a broad array of critical legal, strategic, and public policy issues and is responsible for the College in all legal proceedings and transactions. She works closely with the College's senior administrators and serves as chief legal advisor on issues related to the College, providing recommendations, advice, and input consistent with best practices, the strategic plan, and the mission of the College. She also oversees the provision of all legal services to the College by outside counsel.

Before joining SFC full-time, Dryer represented the College for several years while a Partner at Cullen and Dykman LLP, where she served as a member of the firm's Higher Education practice group and a partner in the firm's Commercial Litigation Department. As outside counsel, Dryer worked closely on matters related to SFC's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and its plans to relocate its campus from Brooklyn Heights to Downtown Brooklyn in 2022.

"Hayley has been instrumental in critical decisions we've made in the past several years, including transitioning to remote learning during the pandemic and bringing back large numbers of students and employees to campus this fall," said President Martinez-Saenz. "Her deep understanding of our institution and its mission will be invaluable as the College continues to evolve significantly in the coming months and years. I'm grateful for her contributions to date and look forward to collaborating with her even more as a member of SFC's leadership team."

While at Cullen and Dykman, Dryer's litigation practice focused on representing employers in discrimination and harassment cases and general contract and business disputes before federal and state courts, administrative agencies, and in alternative dispute resolution forums.

Dryer also represented educational institutions, including colleges and universities, on a wide array of legal matters specific to academia. This included all facets of student and employee relations, tenure and promotion, academic and student affairs, internal grievance and disciplinary procedures, policy creation and implementation, workplace investigations, discrimination and accommodations, governance, institutional financial distress, litigation avoidance, risk management, and crisis management. She also worked with higher education institutions to ensure compliance with Title IX and Article 129-B of the NYS Education Law.

"Working with St. Francis College these past several years has been an incredibly rewarding experience, and I'm delighted to join the Terrier family full-time," said Dryer. "This is a very exciting moment for the institution, and I'm thrilled to play a part in helping it move forward."

Dryer has been a featured speaker at dozens of industry events, including those hosted by the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities (CICU), the NYS American Institute of Architects (AIA), and the Nassau and Suffolk County Bar Associations. Her work has been published by the New York Law Journal and the Nassau Lawyer, among other publications.

Dryer received her Bachelor of Arts in history from New York University (NYU). She received her law degree from The Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.