JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Lane Roberts, a former Joplin police chief, will become the leader of Missouri's Department of Public Safety.
The Senate confirmed Roberts' appointment by voice vote on Thursday. Gov. Jay Nixon nominated Roberts to the position in March.
Roberts led Joplin's police department for seven years before retiring in 2014. He helped coordinate emergency and aid responses after a deadly tornado struck there in 2011.
Roberts will take over for former director Daniel Isom II, who served for only six months before announcing his resignation to teach at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
Isom, who is black, was appointed following unrest in Ferguson after the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown by a white police officer. Nixon has faced criticism for lack of diversity in his cabinet.