NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 16, 2009

CONTACT: KATIE GALLAGHER
517/432-6848, galla145@law.msu.edu

Charles Janssen appointed to MSU College of Law Board of Trustees

East Lansing, MI — The Michigan State University Board of Trustees has appointed Charles A. Janssen of Lansing to the MSU College of Law Board of Trustees.

Janssen is an attorney specializing in estate planning and probate and trust administration with the Lansing law firm of Foster Swift, where he has also served as chairperson of the Business and Tax Department, on the firm's Executive Committee, and as President of the Law Firm from 2003 to 2005.

"I am very honored to join the MSU College of Law Board of Trustees," Janssen said. "I have a great love for MSU and great respect for the law school. I look forward to continued development and growth of the law school and integrating the tremendous resources available at the university."

"MSU Law is proud and grateful that our Board of Trustees consists of outstanding leaders of Michigan and the nation," said Dean Joan Howarth. "Charles Janssen is one of the leading attorneys in Michigan, whose talents, expertise and stature seem almost perfectly designed to help lead MSU Law's great upward trajectory."

"We are pleased MSU has appointed attorney Charles Janssen as a trustee of the MSU College of Law Board of Trustees," said Clif Haley, president of the MSU College of Law. "His proven track record and outstanding qualifications will benefit everyone in the law college community. We look forward to working with him and having his advice and counsel."

Janssen graduated in prelaw from the MSU Honors College, Phi Beta Kappa in 1976 and received his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School in 1979. He has authored numerous articles on estate planning and charitable giving topics and is a contributing editor to many Institute of Continuing Legal Education books and publications.

He has been a recipient of the Ingham County Bar Association's Camille Abood Distinguished Volunteer Award, was elected by his peers as a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, has been listed in Woodward & White's Directory of Best Lawyers in America since 1993, and also has been recognized as a Michigan "super lawyer."

Janssen is active in many mid-Michigan civic and charitable boards and activities, including the Lansing Chamber of Commerce, the Lansing Public Schools Foundation and the Lansing Riverfront Development Board, among others.

Janssen succeeds the Hon. Robert E. Weiss, who died Jan. 7.

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MSU College of Law was in founded in 1891 as the Detroit College of Law and was devoted exclusively to professional education in law. The Law College is one of only a few private law schools to be affiliated with a research university, enabling it to provide a comprehensive interdisciplinary legal education program. Classes offered in its state-of-the-art facilities provide students the benefits of a Big Ten campus while maintaining a small school culture. For more information about the Law College, visit www.law.msu.edu.

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Michigan State University has been advancing knowledge and transforming lives through innovative teaching, research and outreach for more than 150 years. MSU is known internationally as a major public university with global reach and extraordinary impact. Its 17 degree-granting colleges attract scholars worldwide who are interested in combining education with practical problem solving.

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320B Law College Building
East Lansing, MI 48824
www.law.msu.edu