Education World

President-elect Barack Obama is still forming his transition team, but he’s already planning to include a college president with roots in the national higher-education establishment.

Mr. Obama has chosen Juliet V. Garcia, president of the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College, to help him find top officials to serve in his administration, The Brownsville Herald has reported.

Ms. Garcia is the first Mexican-American woman to head a four-year U.S. university, and is also a former chairman of the American Council on Education.

She also was chairman of the federal government’s Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance and has served on the National Advisory Council on Institutional Quality and Integrity, the federal body in charge of reviewing accrediting agencies.

Mr. Obama’s transition team is looking to fill hundreds of top-level federal positions in the 10 weeks before his inauguration, including dozens that could have implications for higher-education policy and spending.

Ms. Garcia was not available today for comment, though she provided The Brownsville Herald with a written statement saying she was “greatly honored” by the president-elect’s request. Her husband, Oscar Garcia, told the newspaper that her selection for the transition team was completely unexpected.

Source: Paul Basken