The president of the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Karen Brooks Hopkins, is the newest member of the state Board of Regents.

The 16-member board oversees all educational activities within the state and the State University of New York. Ms. Hopkins joined the staff of BAM in 1979 and took over as president two decades later. She primarily focuses on fund raising for the renowned cultural institution in Fort Greene, Brooklyn.

“She interviewed with us this week and gave a stellar performance,” the chairman of the Assembly’s higher education committee, Ron Canestrari, said yesterday. “We don’t want all teachers and professors on the Board of Regents – we want people of ability and intelligence first and foremost and we need to mix it up a little bit.”

There is one regent for each of the state’s 12 judicial districts and four at large members. Other board members include a former president of New York University, John Brademas, who also served as a congressman from Indiana; a geology professor at the State University of New York at Plattsburgh, James Dawson, and a professor at City College, Geraldine Chapey.

Board members Merryl Tisch of Manhattan and Anthony Botta of Onondaga County were also reappointed. The members were appointed yesterday by a joint session of the Legislature.

Ms. Hopkins is considered a top fund-raiser who doubled BAM’s endowment during her first few years at the post. Under her watch, the institution – known for its often avant garde programming, including its annual Next Wave festival – launched BAM Cinema and completed a major restoration of its 1908 landmark building.

Board members are selected to serve for five-year terms and do not receive a salary. The Board of Regents, established in 1784, is the oldest education entity in America.