Editor’s Note: This is a rerelease of a previous article due to new information.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro recently reappointed one Council of Trustee member and made one new appointment to West Chester University’s 11-member Council: Judge Barry C. Dozor and State Senator Carolyn Comitta. Members of the Council are appointed by the governor of Pennsylvania for a six-year term and confirmed by the state Senate. Executing Board of Governors’ policies, the duties, responsibilities, and powers of WCU’s Council of Trustees are set by Act 188.

As one of the longest serving members of the Council of Trustees for Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education, Delaware County Court of Common Pleas Judge Barry C. Dozor has served West Chester University as a member of its Council of Trustees for six terms. With Governor’s Shapiro’s recent appointment, Judge Dozor now enters his seventh term as a Council of Trustee member, having been initially appointed to the Council in 1976 by Governor Milton J. Shapp and then again by four subsequent governors.

Judge Dozor, who serves as liaison judge for the Family and Juvenile Division, was appointed to the Court of Common Pleas by former Governor Tom Ridge and swore his oath of judicial office on Dec 13. 2001. He was then elected for a full judicial term that began on Jan. 5, 2004. Judge Dozor has twice been retained for additional 10-year terms: Nov. 5, 2013 and Nov. 7, 2023, respectively.    

A lifelong resident of Delaware County, Judge Dozor is a graduate of the Widener University School of Law (J.D.), West Chester University (B.A.) and Haverford High School. He is certified by the National Judicial College and participates in many academic and professional forums, including those of the Pennsylvania Bar Institute and the Pennsylvania Bar Association Family and Civil Section.

Before his appointment to the bench, Judge Dozor was in private practice as a partner in the Law Office of Dozor and Auslander and served as a Marple Township Commissioner for 18 years, a Municipal Solicitor for Prospect Park, Norwood, Collingdale and Tinicum Township, and a Zoning Hearing Board Solicitor for Marple Township and the Borough of Darby. He has been active in many civic and charitable organizations and serves on the Council of Trustees of West Chester University of Pennsylvania.

Judge Dozor is a member of the Delaware County, Pennsylvania and American Bar Associations. As a practicing attorney for 26 years before becoming a judge, he was admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Judge Dozor has introduced to Delaware County a new “One Judge-One Family” assignment protocol preventing multiple judges from being involved in the same case, discouraging repetitive petitions and continuances, encouraging “global” resolution to multiple issues and providing an opportunity to fast track resolutions and, most importantly, bringing finality to outstanding issues.

Judge Dozor has served in the Family, Criminal, and Civil Divisions of the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas, presently the Liaison Trial Judge for the Civil Division and the assigned Judge for the statewide Coordinated Opioid Litigation, resulting in substantial governmental Subdivision Settlements.

Judge Dozor is the recipient of numerous professional and community awards, including the West Chester University Department of Political Science Distinguished Alumni Award; the Delco Assoc. of Criminal Defense Lawyers Lifetime Achievement Award; Delco Family Law Section Recognition Award; Delco Pro Bono Special Recognition Award; and Donald J. Orlowsky Memorial Award.

“The University is deeply grateful to all members of its Council of Trustees for their service and unwavering commitment to our students,” said West Chester University President Chris Fiorentino. “As an unprecedented example of COT service, Judge Dozor is a steadfast advocate for student success and his guidance remains invaluable to all of us. As we celebrate Judge Dozor’s seventh term on the Council of Trustees, we also welcome State Senator Carolyn Comitta as a new member of the Council. Senator Comitta’s longstanding relationship with the University and our students will strengthen as well as enhance the work that we come together to do on behalf of all citizens in the Commonwealth. I am proud and honored to have these two distinguished West Chester University alumni as members of our Council of Trustees.”

Learn more at West Chester University.