Sources at both the Clinton School and public relations firm CJRW have confirmed that Skip Rutherford will be the next dean of the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service. He will be the second dean of the school, succeeding his mentor, former U.S. Sen. David Pryor.

Pryor and dean pro-tem Tom Bruce recommended Rutherford to UofA System president Alan Sugg, who made the decision. Former president Bill Clinton approved the choice.

Rutherford did not apply for the position but was approached by Sugg about a week ago. He will focus on marketing, outreach, fundraising and communications, leaving academic oversight to Bruce, who will remain in his current position for the forseeable future.

No start date has been announced, but Rutherford will definitely leave CJRW, where he is an executive vice president.

Rutherford chaired the local planning committee that brought the Clinton presidential library to Little Rock, and was also involved in the early development of the Clinton School.

We will update this item as we get more information, and an official news release is expected later today or tomorrow.

UPDATE: Official press release was sent around 4 p.m., confirming everything we already told you. Only new information is that Rutherford will begin as dean on May 8, and he will step down as chairman of the Clinton Foundation but remain on the foundation’s board.

You can read the entire release (it’s a long one) after the jump.

UPDATE #2: CJRW issued this statement from David Martin, the firm’s executive vice president and chief operating officer:

“It is with mixed emotions that we will watch a valued colleague leave our agency. Skip Rutherford, will be leaving our agency to become the new Dean of the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service.  After 13 years of professional and faithful service to our organization and the work of his clients, we will be sorry to see him leave.  However, we also feel very proud for him as he accepts this new, very high-profile position.  For those of us familiar with Skip¹s love for education and his loyalty to President Clinton, this announcement should not come as a surprise.  We look forward to continuing our work with Skip in his new role and we certainly wish him the best of luck.

“While Skip leaves a strong legacy for his work in public policy, CJRW still has incredible bench strength in this unique communications discipline. From Jordan Johnson to Stacy Pittman, from Jim von Gremp to Denver Peacock, our clients know that we will still continue to deliver valued service in the public affairs arena.”