Once in a Lifetime: Celebrating Cheryl Howell's 34 Years of Service to North Carolina Family Law

For more than three decades, Cheryl Howell has been one of North Carolina’s leading experts on family law. As an educator, scholar, and advisor, Howell has been an essential resource, trusted counselor, and valued friend to the state’s district court judges and other judicial officials. 

Howell earned a bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, from Appalachian State University before receiving her JD, with honors and Order of the Coif, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. After five years of practicing law, she returned to UNC-Chapel Hill in 1992 to join the faculty of what was then the Institute of Government. Over the next 34 years, she established an extraordinary reputation as a scholar, educator, and public servant, retiring as the Albert Coates Professor of Public Law and Government. 

During her tenure, Howell became a full professor, served on the School’s Strategic Management Committee, and was elected to the UNC Faculty Council. She co-wrote and edited the North Carolina Trial Judges’ Bench Book, District Court: Family Law, the definitive legal resource on child support, child custody, equitable distribution, and other areas of family law. She also served on the Family Court Advisory Commission from its creation in 1998 and on the North Carolina Child Custody and Visitation Mediation Advisory Committee, helping policy-makers shape family law policy and practice across the state. 

“Cheryl’s unwavering commitment to the School’s service mission is one of her legacies in our institution,” said Dean Aimee Wall. “She set the standard for current and future faculty members with respect to responsiveness, accurate and detailed legal guidance and scholarship, and providing essential mentoring and support to so many new colleagues and public officials.” 

That commitment to service was at the heart of Howell’s work with the judiciary. Throughout her tenure, she planned and administered decades of orientation programs for new district court judges, specialized programs in family law through the North Carolina Judicial College, and annual conferences for the North Carolina Association of District Court Judges. Her presentations were the judicial training equivalent of “Must-See TV,” a testament to her ability to make even complex legal issues engaging, practical, and memorable. 

Among colleagues and judicial officials alike, Howell was known for being patient, generous with her time, and responsive. Colleagues regularly stopped into her office to pose questions about the law, the School of Government, and many other matters. Judges routinely called her during lunchtime, when they stepped off the bench to seek guidance on complex legal situations, or at the end of a long day of court. Howell was a patient listener; she answered inquiries with precision, clarity, and compassion, providing not only expert legal advice but also reassurance, both for colleagues confronting difficult issues and judges navigating challenging cases. 

Howell’s longtime faculty colleague Shea Denning described Howell as “an incredible mentor and friend,” explaining that “she always had time for a question, and she always had a kind and encouraging word.” 

One judge who worked with Howell reflected, “People like Cheryl come along once in a lifetime.” Another described Howell’s influence more personally: “I wouldn’t be the judge I am today without her.” 

Howell’s dedication has earned her some of North Carolina’s highest honors, including the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the North Carolina State Bar’s John B. McMillan Distinguished Service Award, the North Carolina Bar Association’s Liberty Bell Award, and the Women of Justice Legal Scholar Award. 

In recognition of her extraordinary service to North Carolina’s judiciary and public service community, the North Carolina Association of District Court Judges honored Howell by naming her former office in her honor and by establishing the Cheryl D. Howell Family Law Fund.  

Howell’s work has positively impacted generations of judges and School of Government faculty and has helped to ensure reasoned application of the law in cases affecting many North Carolina families. Denning said, “If we follow Cheryl’s example, we will be well-positioned to continue the tradition of excellence and service that were hallmarks of her tenure.” 

Howell will be succeeded by Chelsea Fuller, assistant professor of public law and government, who will begin in her role in late August.