Kansas Solicitor General Steve McAllister, makes oral arguments before the full, 14-member, Kansas Court of Appeals in Topeka, Kan., Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015.

Stephen R. McAllister, a distinguished professor of law at the University of Kansas, was sworn in Thursday as U.S. attorney for the District of Kansas.

The private ceremony took place on the KU campus, according to a press release from the U.S. attorney’s office, and was administered by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

McAllister, an E.S. & Tom W. Hampton Distinguished Professor of Law, was nominated by President Donald Trump and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in September and December of last year, respectively.

As U.S. attorney, McAllister will oversee a staff of more than 100, including 50 attorneys, working in offices in Topeka, Wichita and Kansas City, Kan. He replaces now-former interim U.S. Attorney Tom Beall, who has served in the role since former U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom resigned in April 2016.

“I am honored to serve,” McAllister said in the press release. “I accept the duty to follow the law and to uphold the principles of fairness, impartiality and equal justice for all.”

Stephen R. McAllister

McAllister, who previously served as the solicitor general of Kansas, received a bachelor’s degree from KU in 1985, followed by a law degree from KU in 1988. He has argued nine times before the U.S. Supreme Court, according to his press release, and has also clerked for Thomas, former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Byron R. White and Judge Richard A. Posner of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.

In December, McAllister told the Journal-World that he will only be taking an unpaid leave of absence from KU, and that he plans to return to his teaching job when his job as federal prosecutor is over. His teaching subjects at KU have included constitutional law and federal civil rights law.