A former state superintendent of education has been named K-12 education adviser to Gov. Mark Sanford.

Barbara Nielsen, who was state superintendent from 1991 to 1999, is currently a senior scholar at Clemson University’s Strom Thurmond Institute on Public Policy, where she has focused on school funding and education policy issues.

Nielsen will work in the governor’s office as part of a time-sharing arrangement with Clemson, and will begin her service immediately.

Education adviser Dennis Drew will continue to advise the governor’s office on early childhood education policy, and former State Rep. Rita Allison, communications director for the Commission on Higher Education, will continue to advise Sanford on higher education policy.