President Donald Trump has nominated a South Dakota college official for Secretary of the Air Force.
Dr. Heather Wilson is the president of the South Dakota School of Mines, she has served there since 2013. Wilson represented New Mexico in the US House for 11 years, and graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1982. She served under President George H. W. Bush on the National Security Council and as an Air Force officer in Europe.
Mike Rush is the Director of the South Dakota Board of Regents. He says Wilson gave the Board the news over the weekend. He says everyone is happy for her achievement.
“Well based on her experience as President of Mines, she took over at a difficult time for that institution financially and was able to turn around those finances in a hurry, she’s detail oriented, and she knows how to manage a complex operation. During her time there she found money for new buildings, she established new programs, increased research, grew enrollment and improved the connection between the university and the community,” says Rush.
Rush says the School of Mines and the Board of Regents will greatly miss Wilson in her role. If Wilson is approved by the Senate she becomes the first Air Force Academy graduate to serve as Secretary.