About Alexandra T.
Alexandra T. Schimmer built an academic foundation that spans three countries and three prestigious institutions. She earned a B.A. from Princeton University in 1998, followed by an M.Phil. from the University of Cambridge in 1999. She completed her legal training at Yale Law School, receiving a J.D. in 2002.
Her career has led her into the legal leadership ranks of higher education. Schimmer serves as Associate Vice President and Deputy General Counsel at Ohio State University. In that capacity she advises university leaders, supports institutional governance and handles a broad array of legal matters that come with running a large public research institution.
Before arriving at her current role she accumulated experience in roles that bridged law and policy. Her educational background in both the United Kingdom and the United States informs an analytical approach to campus legal issues. Colleagues describe her as methodical and clear in writing, qualities that serve well when drafting policies, reviewing contracts, or explaining complex legal concepts to nonlawyers.
Her professional memberships include the American Bar Association and the Ohio State Bar. Those memberships connect her to continuing education and peer networks across both state and national levels. She participates in bar activities and keeps current on developments in higher education law through those channels.
Schimmer’s work touches many of the legal questions that confront modern universities: compliance with federal and state law, employment and labor matters involving faculty and staff, student affairs, research administration, and transactional work connected to university partnerships. The combination of her academic credentials and institutional experience gives her practical perspective when legal issues intersect with academic priorities.
She is known inside the university for steady counsel during policy shifts and for translating legal risk into choices administrators can act on. She often coordinates with outside counsel when litigation or specialized regulatory matters arise, balancing institutional needs against legal strategy and budgetary realities.
Outside the office she remains engaged with legal scholarship and professional development, drawing on her graduate education to analyze policy questions. Her current practice centers on legal issues facing higher education institutions, advising Ohio State University on governance, compliance, contracts and related matters.
