Estelle A. Fishbein - 1999
Estelle Fishbein has been General Counsel of Johns Hopkins University since 1975, and Vice President and General Counsel since 1991. Prior to that, she served as Special Assistant Attorney General for the University of Maryland, and as Senior Staff Attorney, Office of General Counsel, Health Insurance Division (Medicare), United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare.
Ms. Fishbein has been a member of the Board of Trustees of the Teachers Insurance Annuity Association since 1987, a role that is important to all who practice higher education law. Her tenure has seen improvements in flexibility of administration and enhancement of investment opportunities for participants. She currently is serving as Chair of the Medical Centre Insurance Co., Ltd., where she has been a member of the Eligibility and Underwriting Committee for over 20 years. She is also a member of the Advisory Committee on Scientific Integrity, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. From 1986-91, she was a member of the Board of Trustees of Lafayette College.
Her leadership in NACUA is equally impressive. Ms. Fishbein first joined the NACUA Board of Directors in 1971. She was elected Treasurer in 1973 and Second Vice President in 1977. She assumed the presidency in 1980-81, the first female in the history of the Association to do so. In the intervening years, she was a member of nearly every NACUA Committee, serving as Chair of Arrangements (1985-86), Honors and Awards (1981-82 and 1982-83), Membership (1972-73), National Office (1983-84), Nominations (1981-82), Program (1978-79), and Publications (1976-77).
The NACUA Distinguished Service Award is being given to Estelle A. Fishbein in recognition of her extraordinary service and her outstanding contributions to higher education, to the legal field, and to our Association. She exemplifies the essence of the profession and is regarded by her colleagues and peers as a leader in the truest sense of the word.