Chancellor Randy Woodson has been named chairman of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, the nation’s oldest higher-education association, The News & Observer reported.

Woodson traveled to the White House Tuesday to meet with Gene Sperling, director of the National Economic Council and President Barack Obama’s main advisor on economic policy, to discuss how to make higher education more accessible and more affordable along with half a dozen university chancellors.

“The president is anxious to get university presidents interested in reaching down into the middle schools and high schools, and I think it’s likely he’ll have an event of some kind in December where he’ll talk about that,” Woodson told The N&O.

In addition to his new chairman role, Woodson will also lead APLU’s Commission on Innovation, Competitiveness and Economic Prosperity, where he’ll assist in promoting economic engagement activities among public universities across the country.

APLU is a research, policy and advocacy organization representing 223 public research universities, land-grant institutions, state university systems and related organizations.