The U.S. Senate has confirmed the presidential nomination of Kansas University graduate and Fort Scott native Jill Maycumber Sommers to serve as a commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Sommers, who earned a bachelor’s degree in political science, previously served as head of U.S. Regulatory Affairs at the International Swaps and Derivatives Association. Earlier, she had worked in the Washington, D.C., office of then-Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kan. Her term expires in 2009.

The commission protects market users and the public from fraud, manipulation and abusive practices related to commodity and financial futures.