Fran Ulmer is Chancellor of the University of Alaska Anchorage, Alaska's largest public university.
"I am grateful they have agreed to serve as we work to determine the causes of this catastrophe and implement the safety and environmental protections we need to prevent a similar disaster from happening again," Obama said in a statement released by the White House.
The bipartisan commission, established through an Executive Order, is tasked with providing recommendations on how the U.S. can prevent -- and mitigate the impact of -- any future spills that result from offshore drilling. The commission is co-chaired by former two-term Florida Governor and former U.S. Senator Bob Graham and former Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency William K. Reilly.