President Obama to nominate MSU Professor --Wenona Singel to Serve on National Board

EAST LANSING, MI -- President Barack Obama announced his intention to nominate Michigan State University College of Law Professor Wenona T. Singel to serve as a member of the Advisory Board of the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (SLSDC). The SLSDC, a wholly owned government corporation operating within the U.S. Department of Transportation, collaborates with its Canadian counterpart to operate, maintain, and ensure the safety and security of navigational facilities in the Saint Lawrence Seaway. Its five-member advisory board meets quarterly to advise the corporation's administrator on policies involving the operation, development, and effects of the Seaway. "President Obama's nomination of Professor Singel to this important board is a tremendous honor both for her and for the Law College," said Joan W. Howarth, dean of MSU College of Law. "We are so pleased that the White House has recognized Professor Singel's extensive record of public service and dedication to research on major policy issues." Singel is an assistant professor of law and the associate director of the Indigenous Law & Policy Center at MSU Law, where she teaches courses in the fields of federal Indian law and natural resources law. She also is an associate appellate justice for the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians and the former chief appellate judge for the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians. Prior to joining the faculty at MSU Law, Singel was an assistant professor at the University of North Dakota School of Law and a fellow with the Northern Plains Indian Law Center. She earlier worked in private practice with firms including Kanji & Katzen and Dickinson Wright. She has served as a member of the Economic Development Commission of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians and as general counsel for the Grand Traverse Resort, a tribally-owned resort in northern Michigan. Professor Singel is an enrolled member of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians. She received an A.B. from Harvard College and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. The Indigenous Law & Policy Center is the heart of the Indigenous Law Program at MSU College of Law. The Center has two goals: to train law students to work in Indian Country, and to provide services to institutional clients such as Indian tribes, tribal courts, and other tribal organizations on a wide variety of legal and policy questions. The Center's "Turtle Talk" blog is a popular and influential source for up-to-the-minute updates and analysis on Indian law and politics. One of the most followed law blogs in the country, Turtle Talk is followed by tribal citizens; indigenous law scholars; and tribal, state, and federal leaders. Published: Thu, Sep 15, 2011