ED Announces Appointment of First-Ever Chief Economist
By Hugh T. Ferguson, NASFAA Senior Staff Reporter
The Department of Education (ED) has appointed Jordan Matsudaira as its first-ever chief economist to guide real time policymaking, and serve as a liaison between experts in the Office of the Chief Data Officer, the Institute for Education Sciences, Budget Service, and Federal Student Aid (FSA) and the research community.
“While we are currently building this function out of the Office of the Under Secretary, with a focus on higher education, over time we hope to expand the scope of the Office of the Chief Economist,” ED Under Secretary James Kvaal said in announcing the appointment. “As that develops, the permanent home for the office may shift within the Department.”
Thanks to @SecCardona and @UnderSecKvaal for the opportunity to build this new institution at @usedgov!! We’re building a great team to partner with the amazing ED staff already using data and analytics to learn how to better support student and borrower outcomes! https://t.co/YcHeeGl9hw
— Jordan Matsudaira (@jdmatsudaira) June 8, 2022
Matsudaira has worked as an economist from Teachers College, Columbia University and has researched education and the labor market, and how government policy can promote socioeconomic mobility.
During the Obama administration Matsudaira contributed to the development of policies that promoted higher education access and accountability, served as chief economist of President Barack Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, and led the interagency team developing data for ED’s College Scorecard initiative.
The new role, which Matsudaira will take while continuing his work as deputy under secretary, will also seek bolster partnerships with leading social science researchers and utilize varying data sets to improve operations.
Publication Date: 6/10/2022
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