The dean of UCLA’s law school has been chosen as the next head of the University of Wisconsin’s flagship campus in Madison, the university system’s regents announced Monday.

Jennifer Mnookin was picked to succeed outgoing Chancellor Rebecca Blank, the regents said. Mnookin holds a law degree from Yale and has served as dean of the School of Law at UCLA since 2015. She also has served as a law professor at the University of Virginia.

Mnookin beat out four other finalists for the job, including UW-Madison Provost John Scholz; University of Pittsburgh provost and philosophy professor Ann Cudd; Marie Lynn Miranda, a Notre Dame statistics professor; and Daniel Reed, a University of Utah computer professor and former provost.

In the university’s announcement of the hire, Mnookin said she feels lawyers are uniquely positioned to be leaders.

“Lawyers have to listen carefully,” she said. “They have to think strategically. They are, fundamentally, trained as problem solvers and sometimes have to persuade people that don’t necessarily see the world the way they do. They also have to be willing to engage across difference and think seriously about alternative points of view. I do think those are qualities that I will bring to this role as chancellor.”