The Chronicle of Higher Education is reporting that the White House will replace outgoing Under Secretary of Education Martha Kanter with Ted Mitchell, currently the head of the NewSchools Venture Fund.  Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s chief of staff (until recently) was Joanne Weiss, also from NewSchools – she served as its Chief Operating Officer.  Mitchell is NewSchools’ President and CEO.  He’s also been on the board of Khan Academy, and is the former president of Occidental College in Los Angeles.  He earned bachelor master degrees at Stanford University, where he also earned his doctorate in education.

According to the Department of Education’s website, the under secretary “coordinates policies, programs, and activities related to postsecondary education, career-technical education, adult education, federal student aid and five White House Initiatives …“

More info about the appointment is here.

The official website of the Under Secretary is here.