Lara Brown will serve as the interim director of the Graduate School of Political Management, the University announced Monday.

Brown, an associate professor and the director of the political management program, will take over for Mark Kennedy on July 1. Kennedy was named the next president of the University of North Dakota in March.

The University will conduct a search for a permanent director, according to the release. No timeline was given for when the search will begin.

“I look forward to continuing the mission of making this institution the premier professional school for politics, communications and advocacy and ensuring that GSPM remains at the forefront of scholarly research on applied politics,” Brown said in the release.

Before coming to the University, Brown taught at Villanova University as an assistant professor of political science, and served in the U.S. Department of Education during President Bill Clinton’s administration.

She is also one of the researchers heading up GSPM’s PEORIA Project, which measures media mentions of 2016 presidential candidates and how candidates’ messages impact the media.