WICHITA — The board that oversees Kansas’ higher education system has appointed Richard Muma as the new Wichita State University president.

The decision by the Kansas Board of Regents on Thursday to make Muma the university’s 15th president is effective immediately.

Muma had been serving as interim president since September, when former president Jay Golden resigned after less than a year on the job. While the reason for his abrupt resignation was never made public, Golden’s decision last year to cancel a virtual speech by Ivanka Trump angered donors and others.

In turning to Muma to lead the university, the Regents picked someone with deep ties to the university that span more than 25 years. He has twice served as interim president and has been a professor, department chair, executive vice president and provost. Muma was born in Wichita, but raised in Houston.

His experience includes stints as chairman for Saint Louis University’s Department of Physician Assistant Education and an assistant professor at the University of Texas Medical Branch-Galveston’s Department of PA Studies. He is also a physician assistant in internal medicine and infectious diseases.