Former Mo. SC judge named to university board

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (Legal Newsline) -- Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon has named former Missouri Supreme Court Judge Ann Covington to the University of Missouri Board of Curators.

The board oversees the operation of the four-campus University of Missouri System.

Nixon made the announcement Thursday.

"Judge Covington has been a prominent leader for Missouri for the past 25 years, and I am pleased to name her to help guide the University of Missouri System," the governor said in a statement.

"Her depth of knowledge and experience and her dedication to serving the people of Missouri will be put to good use on the Board of Curators."

Covington was the first female judge to serve on the Missouri Supreme Court, and was appointed by then-Gov. John Ashcroft in 1989. At the time of her appointment, she was a judge on the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, having been appointed to the post by Ashcroft.

Covington served on the Missouri Supreme Court for more than 12 years, including serving as chief justice, before retiring from the bench in 2001.

After stepping down, she practiced law first as a partner, and later of counsel, with the law firm of Bryan Cave until she retired in 2010.

Covington earned her undergraduate degree from Duke University and her law degree from the University of Missouri School of Law.

After graduating from law school, she served as an assistant attorney general under Ashcroft, the state's top lawyer at the time.

The governor has named her for a term ending Jan. 1, 2019.

Her appointment is subject to confirmation by the Missouri Senate.

From Legal Newsline: Reach Jessica Karmasek by email at jessica@legalnewsline.com.