Administrator Spotlight: Ian Anderson

Administrative Aide to the Vice Dean for Intellectual Life

Tell us the story of how you came to work at NYU Law? Were you always in your current position?

Previously, I worked as an administrative secretary for the Department of Mathematics at Northeastern University in Boston. I relocated to New York City because my partner secured a fellowship at Juilliard. It took a few months to find another job in academia, but I finally landed one here—just two weeks before the COVID lockdown began. Initially, I started in the Office of Stewardship at DART, but that position was eliminated during the peak of COVID, so I was shifted to my current position.

What’s a typical day for you like?

A typical day for me is very atypical. I assume various roles across the Law School, including editing the weekly Workshops and Colloquia email for the vice dean for intellectual life, coordinating logistics for the NYU Law Forum and the Informal Faculty Lunches, managing the school's electronic publication accounts (like SSRN and Scholastica), certifying Continuing Legal Education (CLE) for instructors, and generally assisting faculty members. Any type of question can hit my inbox at any time, requiring me to think on my feet and adapt quickly.

What’s the most challenging thing about what you do? And what’s the most rewarding?

Most challenging: Processing several dozen CLE certifications each semester in between other duties. Most rewarding: One of my tertiary duties is remediating PDF reading materials for various offices across the Law School. In lay terms, remediation means I ensure these PDFs are compatible with screen reading programs used by individuals with blindness or vision impairment. It’s esoteric, painstaking work, but improving accessibility for those with disabilities is my jam.

What do you wish you’d known about the Law School on your first day of working here?

a) The names and faces of people I’d be working with before going remote for over a year. b) That I’d be working on the fifth floor of Van Hall, which isn’t reached by the elevator. Just kidding, I actually enjoy it. I’m one of those people at the gym who prefers the stair climber to the treadmill. I also do a lot of hiking, so it's great practice for that.

What is your favorite spot on campus, and why?

I recently discovered the underground hallway that connects the Law Library and Furman Hall. It has a spooky, “liminal space” vibe going on.

 

Posted February 2, 2024