Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

Bush nominates U. Texas assistant professor
By Nicholas Olivier
Daily Texan (U. Texas)
07/31/2007

(U-WIRE) AUSTIN, Texas — President Bush has nominated University of Texas assistant professor Benjamin Sasse to be assistant secretary for planning and evaluation in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Sasse, who is on a leave of absence from the LBJ School of Public Affairs, currently serves as counselor for policy and strategic initiatives in the department.

Sasse declined to give an official statement due to restrictions placed on nominees under Senate review. His duties as assistant secretary would include overseeing a team of 110 policymakers, as well as day-to-day operations.

"Serving as one of my counselors, Ben has provided sound guidance on a broad scope of important policy matters and has overseen the department's strategy to accelerate the adoption of health information technology nationally," said Mike Leavitt, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, in a press release.

Sasse's positions in the department expire at the end of President Bush's term, after which he can return to the University as a public policy professor.

"Ben is very strong intellectually and extremely experienced in Washington," said James Steinberg, dean of the LBJ School of Public Affairs.

Dean Steinberg added that Sasse's participation in public policy at the national level coincides with President Lyndon Baines Johnson's vision when he founded the school.

Sasse, hired by the University in 2004, began working for the federal government after the Sept. 11 attacks. He earned his doctorate in American political history, strategy and management from Yale University.

[ Back to Student Voices ]