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It was just a year back that the Education Department appointed James Kvaal as its deputy undersecretary following his involvement with the National Economic Council at the White House. Now, he is quitting the education department to join the re-election campaign with President Obama. Though he was not available for comment, his decision to move on has been confirmed by a department spokesman.

Of course, our education department has a number of people who are experienced in higher education policy. Along with a host of career staff members, others who continue to hold their posts include the post secondary education assistant secretary Eduardo M. Ochoa and Martha J. Kanter, the undersecretary who was a former president of a community college.

The impact of Kvaal’s departure can be felt significantly however as he was one of the agenda setters and took over the role of secretary Arne Duncan who believes in focusing more on K-12 than on higher education.

In the summer of 2010, Shireman was succeeded by Kvaal. He played a major role in the Federal student loan overhauling initiated by President Obama. He was also a part of for-profit college regulation intensification. It was always logically evident that Kvaal was going to succeed Shireman.

Though he was less doctrinaire as compared to Shireman, ideologically he was on the same wavelength. Ask any higher education policy maker from a political spectrum cross section, and they will tell you that this is exactly what they got from the department and from Kvaal in particular during the time he served here.

Student aid officials and colleges who have dealt with him heralded him. They found him to be a pragmatist with a deep belief that the Pell Grant Program was vulnerable but the federal student aid was very important. He strived to put Pell Grant Program on the stronger footing.

Some describe Kvaal as an honest broker who advocated the position of colleges on various issues that include the state authorization rules of the department. When the need arose, he was also ever ready to challenge higher education lobbyists, especially if he found that they were blowing smoke.

Kvaal is credited by for-profit advocates for playing a significant role in softening major hurdles in Congress on the gainful employment rules. They laud him for recognizing the reality and ensuring that the rules achieved the original goals even as they were made politically palatable. 

Kvaal certainly infused an intellectual rigor to any discussions on policy, being very whip-smart. Sadly, we hardly find this trait in anyone in the capital. Understandably, there is intense speculation on who will be succeeding Kvaal. Higher education policy makers are awaiting the next entrant to this post.

Possibilities include Michael Dannenberg and Gabrielle Gomez. Dannenberg worked at the New America Foundation, worked for Sen. Edward M. Kennedy and was an aide to Kanter.  He frequently criticized for-profit colleges and student loan companies when he was at the New America Foundation.

Another contender to this post is Gabrielle Gomez. He was the Legislative and Congressional Affairs assistant secretary, a senior House Education Democrat and formerly Rep. George Miller’s aide.