Chris Ashley

Chris Ashley joined the Office of Legal Affairs in July 2025 following 11 years as General Counsel and Secretary of the Research Foundation for the State University of New York.  Before that Chris worked with the University of Wisconsin System  for 14 years where he served as senior counsel and deputy general counsel. While there, he also taught graduate-level courses in higher education law and privacy law.  Before working with the UW System, he was assistant general counsel for the National Science Foundation where he handled a wide portfolio of legal and policy issues in federally sponsored research. Chris also worked on legal ethics matters as a staff attorney in the White House Counsel’s office and was in private practice in the labor and employment section of Morgan, Lewis & Brockius in Washington, D.C. for four years.

Chris earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Swarthmore College, and a law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School, and is a member of the Wisconsin Bar.