Jon Smollen has been appointed as the Director of the Temple Law Center for Compliance and Ethics. He is the first person to serve the Center in this role.
“We’re excited that Jon has agreed to join Temple Law and lead the Center,” said Gregory N. Mandel, interim Dean of Temple University Beasley School of Law. “His wealth of experience in the public and private sectors will be instrumental in implementing our vision for the Center as a forum for regulators and industry leaders to have a meaningful dialogue on the compliance and ethical issues that today’s companies and organizations face.”
Over the last 20 years, Smollen has held industry and government leadership positions at the forefront of compliance issues. Most recently, he served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer for Endo International. Prior to Endo, his positions included Chief Privacy Officer for Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and Chief Compliance Officer for Siemens Healthcare U.S. Prior to entering the private sector, Smollen held a number of positions at the Federal Trade Commission where he played a significant role in the Federal Trade Commission’s efforts to establish and enforce privacy regulations and laws and worked on a wide range of emerging consumer protection issues.
Smollen echoed Dean Mandel on the importance of establishing the Center as a forum for government and industry to have a dialogue on ethics and compliance. “I’ve always believed that an effective and sustainable approach to ethics and compliance is built through partnership and a meaningful understanding of perspectives. The opportunity to lead a Center that aims to facilitate these types of discussions is very exciting. I expect the Center for Compliance and Ethics to be the place where that can happen,” he remarked.
Smollen, who has been involved with the Center since its creation, says that the Center will bring a wealth of opportunity to Temple Law students in partnership with area companies, government agencies, law firms and compliance experts. “The Compliance Center will address the incredible demand for compliance professionals that has emerged over the last decade. We aim to help our students understand and prepare for careers in compliance through courses, educational activities and experiential learning. In addition, the Center will be a focal point for compliance professionals, lawyers and business leaders to advance their understanding of this rapidly evolving area,” he remarked. In addition to enhancing Temple’s existing compliance curriculum to better prepare students for practice in the field, the Center will continue its efforts to foster public-private sector dialogues and educate compliance professionals, lawyers and business executives through continuing education programs, roundtables and speaker events. Past events have featured former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and current U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Zane Memeger.
As Director, Smollen will work with an Advisory Board comprised of companies and firms committed to the Center’s mission including Endo International, Morgan Lewis, Unilife, Berkley Research Group, Merck, Comcast, and Chubb Insurance.