Sister Andrea Lee, the president of St. Catherine University in St. Paul, has been named the new president of Alverno College in Milwaukee.
Last fall, Lee announced that she was leaving St. Catherine in July, after 18 years as president.
In a campus e-mail Tuesday, she wrote: "I did not originally imagine my 'one more thing' as another presidency." But she said the offer from Alverno, a Catholic liberal arts college, "spoke to my heart and soul."
Lee, 67, described Alverno as "a magnificent place, just like St. Kate's. A strong and confident women's college."
Alverno, with about 2,600 students, is about half the size of St. Catherine University. Both were founded as women's colleges, but now accept male students. (At Alverno, only the graduate programs are open to men).
Lee is a member of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. She will be the eighth president of Alverno, which was founded in 1887.
St. Catherine officials launched a search for Lee's successor last fall, when she announced plans to leave. A spokeswoman said that three finalists will be visiting the campus in the next few weeks, and that the board of trustees is expected to name a new president shortly after.