Anthropology alumnus appointed circuit judge

On October 1, Michael Cook, an anthropology alumnus, began his new appointment as resident Circuit Judge of St. Clair County in the 20th Judicial Court.

Cook garnered much success in the legal field since graduating  from SIUE in 1994 with a bachelor of science degree in anthropology.

The CAS alumnus was appointed to the bench in 2007 as an associate judge. Prior to his appointment, he served as an associate with the law firm of Cook, Ysursa, Bartholomew, Brauer & Shevlin in Bellville. Cook was also an assistant public defender for St. Clair County.

In an interview with The Alestle in 2007, Cook credited SIUE’s anthropology department and its faculty with helping to prepare him for the legal field.

“The anthropology program did a lot of political anthropology … all that has helped me deal with (people). Their focus on … legal anthropology helped me have a better understanding of the more complex issues I found in law school,” he said.

Cook obtained his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Tulsa in 1999

Page 1 of 3 | Next page