New Undersecretary of Education

I received this press release from AHEAD today, about the confirmation of Martha Kanter as new Undersecretary of Education. As you will see, this is a very positive appointment for the disability community....

"Martha Kanter will be sworn in today as the Undersecretary of Education. Most recently Kanter has served as Chancellor of the Foothill - De Anza Community College District in California. Earlier in her career she directed the disability services office at San Jose City College where she created the school’s first program for students with learning disabilities as the Director of Disability Support Services."

"Kanter holds a bachelor's degree from Brandeis University, a master's in education from Harvard University and a doctorate in organization and leadership from the University of San Francisco. Her doctoral research explored the "Relationship of Demographic, Institutional, and Assessment Factors Affecting Access to Higher Education for Underrepresented Students in the California Community Colleges." "

"A past-president of AHEAD’s Affiliate CAPED, the California Association of Postsecondary Education and Disability, and former member of AHEAD, Kanter is a strong supporter of the use of technology and digital texts. She is well informed about assistive technology and e-text access through her own work and that of her late husband, Carl Brown who directed the High Tech Center Training Unit for the California Community Colleges where he researched and tested new technologies to assist disabled students, and trained faculty and staff in the state's 110 community colleges on using them."

"Kanter will be the first Undersecretary appointed from the ranks of Community College leadership and the first former DSS Director to serve in the top tier at the Department of Education. As Under Secretary of Education she will coordinate policy, programs, and activities related to vocational and adult education, postsecondary education, college aid, and the President’s financial reforms for the Pell Grant program."

"Congratulations Martha Kanter!"