Laura Dean

Laura Dean was appointed Vice Chancellor for Institutional Integrity and General Counsel in August 2025. In this role, she provides strategic counsel and support to institutional leaders and key stakeholders in legal, ethical, and compliance issues.

Before joining UNCSA, Dean served as Litigation Counsel at the University of North Carolina System Office where she closely collaborated with internal teams and external counsel representing the University of North Carolina and its 17 constituent institutions in a broad range of civil litigation matters. She also managed high-stakes litigation and oversaw the University’s overall litigation portfolio.

Dean worked in private practice for over ten years before joining the University representing individual and corporate clients in a wide range of civil litigation matters.

Dean relocated to North Carolina to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she earned a Bachelor of Science and later her Juris Doctor. She is a member of the North Carolina State Bar, the New York State Bar, and the New Jersey State Bar. Dean is admitted to practice before the United States District Court of Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of North Carolina, and New Jersey, as well as the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. She is also an active member of National Association of College and University Attorneys and North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys.