Kansas University has announced that Derek Kwan, vice president of concerts and touring at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City, will be the new executive director of the Lied Center of Kansas.

Kwan, who will begin his new position in January, has been vice president at Jazz at Lincoln Center since 2012. He had previously been an associate director from 2000 to 2005. He will replace Executive Director Tim Van Leer, who is retiring after leading the Lied Center for the last 12 years.

At an open talk at the Lied Center Pavilion in October, Kwan outlined his ideas for turning the Lied into a public arts center that would be enmeshed in “the cultural fabric” of the university, city and region.

Kwan said he would look for ways to “redefine relevance” to help attract students to the center. He would also want to make programming at the Lied as inclusive as possible by seeking the input of board members and others at the university and in the community.