Z Scott in conversation with Mayor Lori Lightfoot

Zaldwaynaka (“Z”) Scott was unanimously voted by the Board of Trustees’ to serve as the 12th permanent president of Chicago State University and assumed the role on July 1, 2018. Under President Scott’s leadership, CSU has a renewed focus on growing student enrollment, building the school’s regional and national reputation for scholarship and academic research, improving the resources and opportunities available to the student body, and increasing alumni and community engagement.

As a distinguished business and civic leader, President Scott has played an influential role in the Chicago community for 30 years. Currently, President Scott serves on the Board of Directors for the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital Medical Center Board, where she co-chairs the board’s subcommittee on diversity, and Just the Beginning, an organization devoted to improving the diverse pipeline in the legal field. President Scott is also the former Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Chicago Housing Authority, the nation’s third largest housing authority.

President Scott has taught at some of the nation’s most competitive law schools, including Northwestern University School of Law, The University of Chicago Law School and John Marshall Law School. She also previously served on the Board of Visitors at Indiana University Maurer School of Law and was the Board’s elected Vice President of the Chicago State Board of Trustees from 2010-13.

President Scott’s peers rank her among the nation’s top lawyers, resulting in her inclusion in Chambers and Partners USA, U.S. News Best Lawyers, Women in Business Law Guide, The Best Lawyers in America, Leading Lawyers 2015, Top 10 Women in Criminal Defense and Illinois Super Lawyers.

President Scott holds a law degree from Indiana University Maurer School of Law and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Journalism from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana.

On May 20, 2019, Lori E. Lightfoot became the 56th Mayor of the City of Chicago. Her campaign’s call for an ethical and responsive government and opportunities for all Chicagoans resonated in every ward of the city.

Mayor Lightfoot came to City Hall following a career as a manager, advocate, and reform expert, with extensive experience working at the city and federal level to make government more accountable and accessible. Before taking office, she served as a senior equity partner in the Litigation and Conflict Resolution Group at Mayer Brown LLP. While at Mayer Brown, Mayor Lightfoot took on two critical tasks for the City of Chicago, chairing the Police Accountability Task Force, and serving as president of the Chicago Police Board.

Mayor Lightfoot held other key positions in City government, as the Interim First Deputy of the Chicago Department of Procurement Services and Chief of Staff and General Counsel of the Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications.

Prior to that, Mayor Lightfoot was Assistant United States Attorney in the Northern District of Illinois criminal division, managing large-scale investigations involving criminal drug conspiracies, political corruption and bankruptcy fraud.

She received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Michigan and a JD from the University of Chicago Law School.