Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS -- Republican state Sen. Teresa Lubbers of Indianapolis has been picked to become Indiana's new higher education commissioner.

The Higher Education Commission's eight-member search committee voted unanimously Wednesday to recommend Lubbers for the position. The full 14-member commission is expected to vote on the recommendation at its May 8 meeting.

Lubbers, who heads the Senate Education Committee and has worked on education legislation for years, said she's looking forward to the new job.

"I'm excited about being able to focus pretty much exclusively on education and economic development issues and the relationship between the two," Lubbers said. "There are a lot of issues we handle in the Legislature and they're all important. I've spent most of my time on education issues, but I'd really like, at this point in my life, to spend all of my time on those issues."

Lubbers, 57, was born in Indianapolis and earned college degrees from Indiana University and Harvard University.

Current Higher Education Commissioner Stan Jones, a Democrat, is resigning.