McCollum promoted to director of online learning

Western Michigan University Cooley Law School’s director of graduate and extended programs Catherine McCollum is taking on an additional role as director of online learning. WMU-Cooley has recently moved all classes online as a safety precaution with the rising spread of COVID-19.

McCollum will oversee the new Center for Online Instruction, managing and coordinating online resources and faculty training.

“Cathy McCollum displayed leadership and agility during the emergence of the COVID crisis by gathering administrative support, teaching others to help support faculty, and developing a plan to train and certify faculty members in best practices for online teaching,” said Amy Timmer, associate dean of students.

As director of graduate and extended programs, McCollum is responsible for oversight and coordination of administrative aspects of Master of Laws (LL.M.) and partnership programs, including meeting accreditation compliance requirements, student academic advising, grade processing and approval, application processing, marketing, scheduling, registration, and student policy manual updates and enforcement.

Before joining WMU-Cooley, McCollum worked as a research attorney with the Michigan Court of Appeals in the Prehearing Division. She has served as a hearing referee for the Michigan Tax Tribunal, and has represented numerous pro-bono clients throughout Michigan. She has experience with individual, business, state and local tax, teaches Individual Income Taxation, and previously taught Taxation of Business Entities.

McCollum co-authored “The Stimulus Package: Some Tax Changes in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009,” published in Michigan Tax Lawyer; and “Compensatory and Noncompensatory Partnership Interests and Those Transactions That Fail to Meet the Section 721 Non-Recognition Provision,” Walsh College Mark R. Solomon Tax Symposium.