On Friday, President Joe R. Biden announced that James Kvaal will serve as under secretary of education.
Kvaal comes to the position with experience in government and higher education. He is president of the Institute for College Access & Success and previously served as the deputy domestic policy adviser under President Barack Obama.
He’s also held senior roles in the U.S. Department of Education. Kvaal taught at the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy and graduated from Stanford University and Harvard Law School.
Dr. Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education, said Biden “could not have made a better choice.”
“James brings a wealth of expertise and depth of passion to the under secretary’s office,” Mitchell said in a statement. “He is an innovative thinker, a deep listener, and a collaborative decision-maker. In all of his work, he has demonstrated a heartfelt commitment to ensuring that higher education is accessible to all individuals, and has worked well with the field to enable all students to succeed.”