FOLSOM, PA — The University of Delaware recently appointed attorney Dawn Getty Sutphin as director of its Trust Management minor, placing a longtime estate planning and taxation practitioner at the helm of a program developed to address workforce demand in the trust and fiduciary services industry.
Sutphin succeeds Jennifer Zelvin McCloskey, who founded the program in 2017 within the University of Delaware’s Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics. The university said the program was the first trust management minor offered by an AACSB-accredited business school.
The appointment comes as the trust management program continues to expand its role in preparing students for careers in trust administration, estate planning, fiduciary services, and related financial fields. Since its launch, approximately 200 students have graduated with the minor and now work in states including Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York.
McCloskey stepped down as director at the end of 2025 to establish the Peak Trust Certificate Program, a professional and continuing education offering designed for individuals working in or transitioning into trust management careers.
Sutphin brings more than three decades of legal experience in taxation, estate planning, probate, and trust administration. She holds both a Juris Doctor and a Master of Laws in Taxation and previously served as an adjunct professor at Lancaster Bible College for 10 years.
In addition to directing the program, Sutphin will join the Lerner College faculty full-time, teaching courses in business law, fiduciary entities, trust administration, and fiduciary income taxation. She will also oversee the program’s capstone course, which combines classroom instruction with experiential learning and industry engagement.
“Estate planning, probate, and trust management require the ability to piece things together in a logical way while reducing tax consequences and keeping the client’s wishes and best interests at the center of the process,” Sutphin said.
She added that continuing to practice law alongside her academic responsibilities allows her to bring current industry experience into the classroom.
“Continuing to practice law allows me to help families directly while also helping students connect what they learn in class to the real world,” she said.
The university said Sutphin will continue operating her private law practice while serving in her new academic role, maintaining services for estate planning and trust clients in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
The Trust Management minor was developed in partnership with trust industry professionals and is designed to provide students with the academic, technical, and professional skills needed to enter the trust administration field immediately after graduation.
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