ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The former leader of the Taos campus for the University of New Mexico has been picked by Democratic Gov.-elect Michelle Lujan Grisham to lead the state's Department of Higher Education beginning next year.

The governor-elect announced the appointment of Kate O'Neill as secretary of higher education to oversee the state's network of community colleges and public universities.

O'Neill served as CEO of the University of New Mexico at Taos for a dozen years until 2016. She takes over an agency grappling with recent state spending cuts.

O'Neill and Lujan Grisham said afford...