Under Secretary of Education
The Under Secretary of Education role was established as the second-highest-ranking position in the United States Department of Education when the agency was established in 1979. With the addition of a Deputy Secretary position in 1991, the Under S ...
. She was appointed by President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
on April 29, 2009, and confirmed by the Senate on June 19, 2009.
She served as chancellor of the
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
from
Brandeis University
, mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts"
, established =
, type = Private research university
, accreditation = NECHE
, president = Ronald D. Liebowitz
, pro ...
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
University of San Francisco
The University of San Francisco (USF) is a private Jesuit university in San Francisco, California. The university's main campus is located on a setting between the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park. The main campus is nicknamed "The Hil ...
.
As the US Under Secretary of Education, Kanter oversaw policies, programs, and activities related to post-secondary education, vocational and adult education, and federal student aid, as well as continue to promote open educational resources (OER). Kanter announced on August 13, 2013, she would be stepping down from her Obama administration post.
She currently leads College Promise, American non-partisan
non-profit
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
initiative to increase college access, affordability, quality, and completion in American
higher education
Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...
. She also is a senior fellow at
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
’s Steinhardt Institute for Higher Education Policy. The
College Promise College Promise is a national non-partisan campaign that supports funding the first two years of higher education, starting with community colleges in the United States. While state-level campaigns often lack funding, College Promise highlights grow ...
initiative was started in
Obama administration
Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican ...