Kansas University’s federal lobbyist has been named president of the board of directors of The Science Coalition, a nonprofit organization of leading research universities that includes KU.

Jack Cline, director of federal relations, will begin his one-year term as president on Jan. 1, according to a news release from KU. He was the board’s secretary in 2015.

“It’s a real honor to represent the nation’s 64 leading research universities,” Cline said in KU’s news release. “We are singularly focused on seeking increased federal funding for research every fiscal year.”

The Science Coalition, on its website, describes its mission as “sustaining the federal government’s investment in basic scientific research as a means to stimulate the economy, spur innovation and drive America’s global competitiveness.”