Washington, D.C. — Ben Miller has been named the Senior Director of the Postsecondary Education Policy team at the Center for American Progress, with team Vice President David A. Bergeron transitioning to Senior Fellow status at CAP. Previously, Miller—who will now lead CAP’s Higher Education team—served as research director for higher education at New America, as well as a senior policy advisor in the Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development at the U.S. Department of Education.
“Ben Miller is one of the leading young voices in the United States on higher education, and we are thrilled that he will lead the work of CAP’s Postsecondary Education team, whose proposals and analyses are continually helping shape the conversation about college affordability and access,” said Carmel Martin, Executive Vice President for Policy at CAP. “College access and affordability have already become leading issues in the run up to 2016, thanks in part to David Bergeron’s nationally recognized work on public investment in higher education, as well as accountability for institutions. Both Miller and Bergeron will help ensure that these issues remain at the forefront in the months and years to come.”
At CAP, Miller will continue the development of CAP’s College for All proposal, designed to ensure that the United States has the skilled workforce and educated citizenry needed to achieve inclusive prosperity and to create a postsecondary education system that encourages economic growth. While at the U.S. Department of Education, Miller worked on efforts around rethinking federal financial aid and regulating for-profit colleges. He also helped design competitions for the more than $1.5 billion issued each year by the Office of Postsecondary Education. Miller brings to CAP expertise in areas that include higher education accountability, affordability, and financial aid, as well as for-profit colleges.
David A. Bergeron, who has led the Center’s Higher Education team since early 2013, will now serve as a Senior Fellow at CAP. At CAP, Bergeron has led the organization’s postsecondary policy agenda, built on the belief that high-quality and affordable postsecondary education is key to rebuilding the middle class and advancing national competitiveness. Bergeron has covered a wide range of higher education topics—drawing on his more than 30 years of experience in the field—including student debt and loan refinancing, bankruptcy protections for student debt, the administration’s college ratings proposal, and regulations around gainful employment. He led the development of CAP’s Public College Quality Compact—a proposal to respond to the growing state disinvestment in public higher education—which has received broad coverage in the media, including in The New York Times’ Taking Note editorial blog. Along with Carmel Martin, he spearheaded the formation of CAP’s College for All plan. Bergeron will be dividing his time between Washington, D.C., and his native Rhode Island as he transitions toward part-time retirement.
To schedule an interview with a member of CAP’s Postsecondary Education team, contact Allison Preiss at [email protected] or 202.478.6331.
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