Vice President and General Counsel Ralph Weber to retire in September

Ralph Weber, vice president and general counsel, has announced his intention to retire in September after three years at Marquette. President Kimo Ah Yun has named Lizzy McCright, deputy general counsel, to succeed Weber as the next vice president and general counsel.

Weber joined the university in November 2023 as acting general counsel, responsible at the time for leading the corporate engagement and public affairs functions within the former Office of University Relations; he was also elected corporate assistant secretary by the Board of Trustees that same year. Weber was named permanent vice president and general counsel in April 2024 and leads the university's governmental affairs and community engagement efforts in addition to the Office of the General Counsel. McCright will lead these areas upon his retirement.

"On behalf of the Marquette community, I want to thank Ralph for his service and unwavering dedication to our mission, vision and values," President Ah Yun said. "Through thoughtful and steady legal counsel, strategic guidance of our university relations functions, and selfless co-leadership of the Securing Our Future initiative, Ralph has capped off a remarkable career - one he fittingly chose to conclude at the university that has meant so much to him and his family."

"I will be forever grateful to President Ah Yun and my colleagues across the university for the privilege of working with you at Marquette as general counsel," Weber said. "Serving an institution that measures success in lives changed and knowledge advanced has been the highlight of my career. Although retiring from a job I love is bittersweet, I step away knowing the talented, thoughtful, and dedicated Lizzy McCright and her team will continue to build upon, enhance and protect our mission."

Weber received his bachelor's degree summa cum laude in history from Marquette's Klingler College of Arts and Sciences in 1978 and was selected for Phi Beta Kappa and Alpha Sigma Nu honor societies. He received his law degree from Columbia University, where he served on the Columbia Law Review. 

Weber has deep familial roots at Marquette. His father retired as emeritus professor of history after 47 years, and his daughter, Claire Klein, a Marquette Nurse and nurse practitioner, worked as a clinical instructor in the College of Nursing. Prior to becoming general counsel, Weber taught trial advocacy at Marquette Law School for more than two decades.

During a distinguished career as a trial lawyer, Weber tried dozens of complex, multi-week cases, earning peer recognition from the American College of Trial Lawyers, Chambers Guide, Best Lawyers and more. Weber also helped found a nationally renowned trial law boutique, Gass Weber Mullins LLC. Weber also created the Trial Science Institute, a facility for studying how jurors and judges respond to disputed cases.

Details on a retirement party for Weber will be shared later this summer.

McCright to succeed Weber upon retirement

Lizzy McCright, deputy general counsel, will succeed Weber upon his retirement as the next vice president and general counsel, overseeing the Office of the General Counsel and Marquette's university relations functions, including community engagement and governmental affairs.

McCright joined Marquette in January 2025 as deputy general counsel, following a 20-year career at Menomonee Falls-based Kohl's, Inc.

As deputy general counsel at Marquette, McCright has provided strategic, proactive legal advice to university leaders across academic and administrative units to reduce organizational risk and exposure. She has brought business-minded legal expertise across the legal dimensions of university operations, including the collaborative development of pivotal strategies to navigate an evolving governmental policy and enforcement landscape.

"Lizzy brings the precise expertise, experience and mission-oriented mindset necessary to lead the Office of the General Counsel and university relations functions at Marquette," President Ah Yun said. "As deputy general counsel, she has demonstrated strategic leadership and thoughtful legal counsel across the university. I have no doubt she will thrive in this new role as she continues to provide exemplary service to Marquette and its mission."

"I am deeply honored to take on this leadership role and to build upon Ralph's legacy as an extraordinary leader and trusted counselor to the university," McCright said. "In service of our shared mission, I look forward to working with the talented teams in the Office of General Counsel and university relations. We will continue to partner with colleagues across campus as we both navigate complexities and pursue the opportunities ahead."

At Kohl's, McCright held progressive roles and responsibilities within the legal department. She joined the Fortune 500 retail company in 2005 as legal counsel. She was promoted to increasingly more senior roles, eventually being named senior vice president and deputy general counsel in 2019 and serving as the assistant corporate secretary to the board of directors.

In that role, McCright led, coached and developed a high-performing team of 15, including eight attorneys, as well as paralegals and executive administrative assistants across the corporate, intellectual property, and real estate legal teams. She collaborated with colleagues to align the legal department strategy, resources and workflows to support organizational goals.

With a deep commitment to growing future talent, McCright helped establish Kohl's longstanding legal internship program, served as a mentor to other executives, and was selected to participate in Harvard's "Growing as a Purposeful Leader" executive education program. Her investment in others fostered a culture of connection and shared purpose across McCright's legal teams.

McCright has a breadth of expertise in corporate and institutional law, including artificial intelligence law and policy; privacy and data security; crisis management; real estate; intellectual property matters; labor and employment law; contracts and commercial transactions; regulatory and nonprofit compliance; and corporate governance.

McCright earned a Bachelor of Science degree, cum laude, from Northwestern University. She received her law degree, magna cum laude, from Marquette Law School where she was a three-year merit scholarship recipient, Association for Women Lawyers Scholarship recipient and served as the editor-in-chief of the Marquette Law Review.