DETROIT (Aug. 6, 2010) - Wayne State University Law School is pleased to welcome Kathryn L. Koehler as its new alumni officer. Koehler's responsibilities include facilitating Wayne Law Alumni Association (LAA) activities; raising awareness of the group and its benefits to alumni, students and the community; enhancing the Law School's alumni network, based on regional, class and practice area affiliations; and increasing participation in LAA activities.

Kathryn L. Koehler

Koehler brings a great deal of experience to her new role. Prior to coming to Wayne Law, she spent eight years at Ave Maria School of Law (which relocated from Ann Arbor, Mich., to Naples, Fla., in 2009) engaged in marketing communications and public relations and building the school's for-credit externship program. Before that, she was a reporter for a startup weekly legal newspaper in Ohio for nearly four years. Koehler has also clerked for a federal judge and served as an editor for a publisher of legal reference books.

"One of Wayne Law's greatest assets is our impressive network of alumni who are based in Michigan, throughout the U.S. and in a number of countries around the world," said Wayne Law Dean Robert M. Ackerman. "By bringing Kathi on board, we can further strengthen Wayne Law's relationship with our alumni and friends within the legal community and beyond."

LAA President Suzanne Johnson, '84, agreed. "Kathi's background and skills will create new opportunities for the Law Alumni Association to act on its many plans to help alumni connect with each other and the Law School," she said. "We are delighted that she has chosen to help us execute our vision."

Koehler, who joined Wayne Law on July 26, 2010, is looking forward to the opportunity.

"It's an exciting time to start this position at Wayne Law because it's a brand-new job that both alumni and the administration have been eagerly awaiting," Koehler said. "I hope to use my strong relationship-building and communication skills as well as my understanding of legal education to help the Wayne Law Alumni Association increase alumni engagement and to build on the momentum that has been created by the current Law Alumni Association Board."

Koehler earned a bachelor of arts in economics from Xavier University in Cincinnati and a juris doctor degree, cum laude, from Case Western Reserve University School of Law in Cleveland. She lives in western Wayne County with her husband and daughter.

Wayne State University is a premier urban research university offering more than 400 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to nearly 32,000 students.

For more information about Wayne State University Law School, visit law.wayne.edu.