Daniel Madzelan, a senior Education Department official, retired recently after 33 years of helping shape federal education policy.

Madzelan had many titles throughout his long career, including a stint as acting assistant secretary for postsecondary education; he retired as a senior analyst. He started work just as then-President Carter was centralizing what was then the federal Office of Education, and was present for the Education Department’s creation, its rise to greater prominence during the Clinton administration and its recent foray into regulation without legislation.

Among student aid advocates and others in higher education, Madzelan gained a reputation as a straight talker, unusually open to listening to institutions’ concerns -- even on contentious issues, including the switch to direct lending and increased regulation of for-profit colleges -- and perpetually willing to represent the department’s position in discussions with college groups.

In the following article, he discusses the changes he saw during his tenure at the Education Department.