New Developments at the Department of Education
BU IN DC
Associate Vice President for Enrollment and Student Affairs Christine McGuire participated in a negotiated rulemaking session on debt relief for federal student loans at the U.S. Department of Education between February 17 and 19.
School of Public Health Associate Dean Harold Cox attended a White House reception honoring Black History Month on February 18.
NEW DEVELOPMENTS AT THE DEPT. OF EDUCATION
The U.S. Department of Education recently made several announcements impacting the higher education community:
- President Barack Obama announced his intention to nominate John B. King as Secretary of Education. Dr. King has served as the Acting Secretary since last December, and Senate Republicans had urged Obama to submit his name for Senate confirmation.
- The Department unveiled a new student aid enforcement office dedicated to investigating fraudulent activities at colleges, such as misuse of federal funds or failure to adequately report crime statistics.
- The agency released a Dear Colleague letter on the Perkins Loan Program, which provides guidance on the changes to the program enacted by Congress last year.
WHITE HOUSE RELEASES CYBER RESEARCH PLAN
On February 9, the Obama Administration released the Federal Cybersecurity Research Development Strategic Plan, a new component of the Administration’s larger Cybersecurity National Action Plan that seeks to eliminate the advantage of cyber criminals and better position federal agencies to detect and attribute cyber attacks in real-time. The Plan focuses on four science and technology areas to guide federal cybersecurity research: deterrence, protection, detection, and adaptation. While much of the research recommended in the document would take place within federal agencies, the Plan does propose expanding extramural cybersecurity research funding at the National Science Foundation and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
EVENT NEWS YOU CAN USE
BU Research has two upcoming events to enable BU scholars to meet potential research collaborators and develop new skills to further their research:
- Drug Repurposing and Reformulation: Opportunities, Risks, and Challenges: the latest installment in the Research on Tap series allows BU investigators to meet peers and learn about their research on February 22.
- Inside Nature: Visual Communications Strategies: Kelly Krause, creative director of Nature, will present strategies for communicating science through visualization in a publishing context on February 26.