President Clinton last week filled two more top posts at the Education Department, naming Sharon P. Robinson to be the assistant secretary for educational research and improvement and David Longanecker to be the assistant secretary for postsecondary education.
Ms. Robinson currently serves as the director of the National Education Association’s National Center for Innovation, which the teachers’ union describes as a “research-development and -dissemination function geared to school restructuring and the professionalization of teaching.’'
She began her career as a teacher in the Fayette County, Ky., public schools, and also taught at Bitburg Air Force Base in Germany. From 1980 through 1989, she served as the N.E.A.'s director of instruction and professional development.
Mr. Longanecker has been the executive director of both the Colorado Commission on Higher Education and the Colorado higher-education department since 1988. He previously served on the Minnesota Higher Education Council and as an education specialist for the Congressional Budget Office.
Both nominees have strong political ties to the Clinton Administration. The N.E.A., which was active in Mr. Clinton’s campaign, lobbied for Ms. Robinson’s appointment.
Mr. Longanecker is a member of the Cabinet of Gov. Roy Romer. Mr. Romer, the chairman of the National Governors’ Association and a member of the National Education Goals Panel, has worked closely with Mr. Clinton on education issues.
