In the waning days of his Administration, President Reagan has officially named Patricia M. Hines to be assistant secretary of education for educational research and improvement.
Ms. Hines, who had headed the Education Department’s research arm on an acting basis, played a supporting role in a heated 1982 battle for control over what was then the National Institute of Education.
Research advocates and some career employees at oeri expressed alarm when Ms. Hines was appointed as acting head in October. They cited her link to the nie controversy and contended that her experience did not qualify her to succeed Chester E. Finn Jr.
Critics charged that White House conservatives had pressured Secretary of Education Lauro F. Cavazos into hiring Ms. Hines. The Secretary vigorously disputed such assertions.(See Education Week, Nov. 9, 1988.)
Confirmation Not Required
Appointments to positions at the level of the one filled by Ms. Hines usually must be confirmed by the Senate. But the President may make appointments without approval when the Congress is not in session, and the incumbents can remain in office for a year without confirmation.
All the Reagan Administration’s political appointees have been asked to submit letters of resignation, which President-elect George Bush can accept or reject.
