A senior staffer for U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts has been hired to lead lobbying efforts for Kansas University.

Keith Yehle, Roberts’ legislative director, is a native of Overland Park who graduated from KU in 1990 with a degree in political science.

“This is a dream job for me,” Yehle said. “I was very happy in Senator Roberts’ office, but when this opportunity came up I had to take it.”

As government relations director for KU, the 38-year-old Yehle will be the liaison between KU and Washington, D.C., on appropriations bills and other issues. He also will lead KU’s lobbying efforts in Topeka.

He will report to Paul Carttar, executive vice chancellor for external affairs.

The position, which pays $108,000, is a new one and was created with funds left unused after two staff members departed, Carttar said. Kevin Boatright, former associate vice chancellor for external affairs, left last week for a job with the KU Center for Research, and Linda Luckey, a former office manager, left to work in the Provost’s Office.

“He’s a person of extreme skill and competence,” Carttar said of Yehle. “We’ve done our due diligence. We’ve talked to a lot of people about Keith. He’s highly regarded among the public policy community in Washington.”

After graduation from KU, Yehle worked for Kansas Congresswoman Jan Meyers for six years, then joined Roberts’ staff in 1997 as a legislative assistant. He was deputy legislative director for Roberts from 1998 to 2001, when he was promoted to legislative director.

Yehle, who will start at KU on June 6, said he expected appropriations issues, stem cell research and reauthorization of the Higher Education Act to be among his top priorities in upcoming years.