Haskell Indian Nations University ended a two-month search for a new president when it announced late Thursday that Linda Warner will replace president Karen Swisher, who retired Dec. 31.

Warner will leave the Tennessee Board of Regents, where she served as associate vice chancellor for academic affairs.

Warner, a member of the Comanche Nation, will officially take over as president on April 2. Venida Chenault and Marvin Buzzard will continue on as interim co-presidents until then.

Chenault, vice president for academic affairs at Haskell, lauded Warner’s selection as Haskell’s next president.

“I think she brings with her a strong background and expertise in multiple layers of education and service to tribal people,” she said.

Warner makes a return to Lawrence, where she once served as a staff member at Haskell and a graduate-level instructor at Kansas University.

Before teaching at KU, Warner worked for 18 years for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, while earning a master’s degree in education from Pennsylvania State University and a doctorate from Oklahoma University.

One Haskell student, Marjorie Doherty, said she expected the new president would improve communication among academic departments, which she said was lacking at the university.

“Some teachers don’t even know they’re offering summer school classes,” she said.

Warner will take over for Swisher, who had served as the university’s president for seven years.