Education: A New Commissioner

The U.S. Commissioner of Education used to be regarded as the Federal Government’s chief spokesman for learning. About eight months ago, however, Sidney P. Marland Jr. stepped up to become an Assistant Secretary of HEW, and President Nixon did not nominate a new successor until last week. His choice: John R. Ottina, 41, a seasoned administrator who has had little firsthand experience in education. After earning his doctorate in educational psychology from the University of Southern California in 1964, he did teach math for two years in a public high school in his native Los Angeles. But then he became a systems analyst, eventually rising to chairman of Worldwide Information Systems, a management-consulting firm in Los Angeles, before moving to Washington, D.C., as deputy commissioner in 1970.

A decisive executive who frequently works twelve-hour days, he argues that school problems “are as much managerial and financial as they are questions of educational philosophy” and that policy should be set by Marland, not by the commissioner. Nevertheless, Ottina’s nomination dismayed groups such as the National Education Association, which announced it would oppose Senate confirmation on the grounds that the job should go to someone with more educational experience. But it is in keeping with the pattern of other appointments in the President’s second term. At a time when Nixon wants to cut federal aid to education, he has apparently decided that he wants a manager rather than an advocate in charge of the agency’s 2,900 employees and $5 billion budget.