U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings announced that the U.S. Senate has confirmed Diane Auer Jones as assistant secretary for postsecondary education at the U.S. Department of Education.

"Diane has vast experience in the public and private sectors of higher education, as well as policy and government affairs," said Secretary Spellings. "As assistant secretary, she will be an invaluable member of my team as we continue efforts to improve America's higher education system in order to better serve the needs of students and their families."

As assistant secretary for postsecondary education, Jones serves as the principal adviser to the Secretary on Departmental matters related to developing postsecondary education policy and legislative proposals. The Office of Postsecondary Education is responsible for administering numerous programs, including those designed to provide financial assistance to eligible students enrolled in postsecondary educational institutions, improving postsecondary educational facilities and programs through the provision of financial support to eligible institutions, recruiting and preparing disadvantaged students for the successful completion of postsecondary educational programs, and promoting the domestic study of foreign languages and international affairs and supporting international educational research and exchange activities.

Jones joined the Department of Education in May 2007 as principal deputy assistant secretary for the Office of Postsecondary Education. Previously, she served as deputy to the associate director for science in the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Executive Office of the President. Prior to that position, Jones served as director of the Office of Government Affairs at Princeton University.

Earlier in her career, she was program director in the Division of Undergraduate Education at the National Science Foundation and an associate professor at the Community College of Baltimore County. Jones is the former Chair of the Intellectual Property Working Group within the Council on Federal Relations for the Association of American Universities.

A native of Baltimore, Jones received her bachelor's degree from Salisbury State University and her master's degree in Applied Molecular Biology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

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