A retiring legislator will remain in the Statehouse, lobbying for the University of Idaho.

Caroline Nilsson Troy will join the U of I as special assistant to the president for state and governmental relations, effective July 1.

Troy has served eight years in the House, and was vice chair of the budget-writing Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee. The Genesee Republican did not seek re-election this year.

A U of I graduate, Troy is a former executive director of development at the university.

“This opportunity brings me full circle,” she said in a U of I news release Thursday. “I am proud to rejoin the Vandal family and bring the experiences and knowledge I gained in my years in the Legislature.”

“The experience Caroline brings is invaluable,” U of I President Scott Green said. “She not only understands how the Legislature works, but her leadership on the Joint-Finance Appropriations Committee brings added insight. She is a Vandal who brings passion for and deep understanding of our university.”

Troy replaces Joseph Stegner, a former state senator who had been the U of I’s lobbyist in Boise for more than a decade. Stegner is retiring.