Jane Chu, president and CEO of the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts since 2006, was confirmed Thursday by the U.S. Senate as chairwoman of the National Endowment for the Arts.

“She’s spent years enriching the culture and strengthening the business community in Kansas City,” Sen. Claire McCaskill, a Missouri Democrat, said in a statement. “I’m looking forward to seeing her bring that same leadership to the national stage.”

Sen. Roy Blunt, a Missouri Republican, said he “was impressed by her successful oversight of the more than $400 million Kauffman Center.”