Bobbi Cordano, a vice president at the Wilder Foundation in St. Paul, is heading to Washington, D.C., in January to become president of Gallaudet University, the nation's premier university for the deaf and hearing-impaired.

Cordano will be the 11th president of the historic university located about a mile from the Capitol, known internationally as a model of education and research. Its federal charter was signed in 1864 by none other than President Abraham Lincoln.

It's a place near to Cordano's heart. Both of her parents graduated from Gallaudet and were lifelong supporters.

"This is a job I feel like I've been preparing for my whole career, " said Cordano, who also is hard of hearing.

Cordano will succeed T. Alan Hurwitz, who is retiring as Gallaudet's president at year's end. She will walk onto campus carrying a résumé that includes service as assistant dean at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, director of disability services at the U and assistant Minnesota attorney general.

She also is a founding member of Metro Deaf School, a pre-K through eighth-grade charter school for deaf and hard of hearing children in St. Paul, and a founding board member of Minnesota North Star Academy, a St. Paul charter high school for similar students.

Cordano and her family will move into the Gallaudet president's Victorian home next year, where she will oversee a university serving about 1,700 students.

She hasn't packed a personal agenda, but plans to consult with students, professors and staff on the future direction of the university.

That doesn't mean her arrival will be low key. Gallaudet already has launched a social media campaign to crank up her profile with a "Get Your Selfie with President Cordano" Twitter campaign, hashtag #Bobbi4GU.

"As she visits campus during the transition period, we will let the campus community know where and when you can get your selfies with her," the university's website explains.

Cordano, however, has at least one general issue on her mind, not just for the school but for the nation.

And that is the shortage of the kind of specialized education that Gallaudet provides for students both in their hometown classrooms and in higher education.

Said Cordano: "We are not offering the range of options needed."

Cordano currently oversees a $20 million annual budget for Wilder programs serving children, families, social services, aging communities and more.

She moved to Minnesota in the 1990s, shortly after finishing law school at the University of Wisconsin, attracted to the state's reputation. She had earned a bachelor's degree at Beloit College in Beloit, Wis.

"One of the best-kept secrets is the deaf community in Minnesota is one of the most vibrant," she said.

"It's no accident the next president of Gallaudet is from Minnesota. This community has prepared me for the job."

Jean Hopfensperger • 612 673-4511