Senate confirms Miguel Cardona as Education Secretary

Higher Ed Dive

Jeremy Bauer-Wolf

March 1, 2021

Dive Brief:

• The Senate on Monday approved Miguel Cardona, a longtime advocate for disadvantaged students and the former Connecticut K-12 schools chief, to serve as the 12th U.S. Secretary of Education.

• Cardona sailed through the confirmation process in contrast to his predecessor, Betsy DeVos, with a final vote of 64 to 33.

• Other recent appointees show the department’s leadership team taking shape. James Kvaal, an Obama administration official, was nominated for the top position overseeing higher education.

Dive Insight:

President Joe Biden’s selection of Cardona fulfills his pledge to pick an Education Secretary with a background working in public schools. Cardona became the head of Connecticut’s K-12 schools in 2019, after many years as an elementary school principal.

He does not have extensive higher education experience, but was nevertheless lauded by many industry groups for his work helping students of color and those who are low-income. Cardona has had some exposure to postsecondary education as a University of Connecticut trustee, which gives him a “clear view” of institutions’ challenges, American Council on Education President Ted Mitchell told Higher Ed Dive in December.

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