U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education William D. Hansen announced today the appointment of James Manning as acting chief operating officer (COO) of the department's Federal Student Aid (FSA) office, effective immediately.

Manning is a veteran of the Reagan and prior Bush administrations. He previously worked at the department from 1989-1993, serving in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education as chief of staff and deputy assistant secretary. In June 2001, he returned to the department as chief of staff to Deputy Secretary Hansen where his primary responsibility has been to advise the deputy on major budget and policy decisions and day-to-day departmental operations.

Prior to rejoining the department, Manning served as CEO of the Congressional Award Foundation, a youth recognition program which encourages young Americans to involve themselves in activities that teach the lessons and value of service, personal development, fitness and citizenship. His private sector experience also includes senior executive positions with the nonprofit organization Catholic Alliance and the National Basketball Association.

"Jim brings a wealth of skills and experience to the acting COO position. As my chief of staff, he is my closest strategic adviser. He has worked closely with FSA staff on a broad array of policy and budgetary issues. We are confident he will be an effective leader during this transition," Hansen said.

As previously announced, Greg Woods recently stepped down after serving as the first COO of the Federal Student Aid office. Candy Kane, FSA's chief of staff, has been acting COO in the interim. Ms. Kane will retire from federal service on August 16. Woods and Kane were central figures in the establishment of FSA as the federal government's first performance-based organization.

"We would like to thank Candy for her 30-plus years of dedicated public service, particularly for her help in restructuring FSA in order to improve the delivery of federal student aid to more than eight million students attending our nation's colleges, universities and postsecondary schools," Hansen said. "Her leadership during this transition has been invaluable. I wish her luck and good fortune in the private sector."

Additionally, Hansen announced the appointment of Kay Jacks as FSA's acting chief of staff. She is currently general manager of the schools channel at FSA.

###

Top

Back to August 2002