Kansas University has named its interim associate vice chancellor for innovation and entrepreneurship, Julie Nagel, to the position permanently.

The appointment is effective immediately, KU announced Friday. In the role, Nagel serves as president of KU Innovation and Collaboration (KUIC), which manages intellectual property and technology commercialization at all KU campuses. She also provides leadership for the university’s overall economic development mission.

Nagel said her goals are to continue “moving KU research to the market” to improve Kansans’ lives and ensure the university is an economic driver in the region, according to KU’s announcement.

“Julie has proven herself while serving in an interim capacity,” Jim Tracy, KU’s vice chancellor for research, said in the university’s announcement. “She’s very knowledgeable of the academic world and the business world and is highly regarded by both, in Kansas and elsewhere.”

Nagel came to KU in 2011 as director of industrial partnerships. Previously she was with Discovery Park at Purdue University, where she was managing director of the Oncological Sciences Center, according to KU. She has a doctorate in ecology and evolutionary biology.