An Eau Claire attorney has become the first president of the UW System Board of Regents from the Chippewa Valley and the board’s youngest-ever president-elect. The 18 members of the Board of Regents, who oversee the UW System’s 26 campuses, elected John Robert Behling as president at their June 9 meeting. Behling, 46, had been the board’s vice president since 2015 and was appointed to a seven-year term on the board in 2012. “I would like to thank Gov. (Scott) Walker for appointing me to the Board of Regents. The past two years as vice president have been an educational and rewarding experience,” Behling said in a press release. “I am looking forward to serving the UW System even further as president. We will continue to advocate for our campuses, govern wisely, and remain accountable to the taxpayers, citizens, and students we serve.” Behling is an attorney with Weld Riley, S.C., an Eau Claire law firm, and is a graduate of UW-River Falls and the University of Wisconsin Law School.