SALT LAKE CITY (AP)-Per The Associated Press and the Salt Lake Tribune, late Thursday evening, the University of Utah named Ruth Watkins as the 16th president in school history.

Watkins, who was previously the U of U’s provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs as of 2014, also spent some time at the University of Illinois in Champaign, Ill.

From 1993-2013, Watkins served in the department of speech and hearing science as well as courtesy appointments in linguistics and psychology at Illinois.

Watkins beat out two other finalists, Pennsylvania State University Executive Vice President Nicholas Jones and University of Virginia Executive Vice President Thomas Katsouleas.

Watkins, the first female president in U of U history, replaces outgoing president David Pershing, who has served in this role since 2012 and will officially retire in May 2018.