Bane, Professor at K-School, May Get State Education Post

Mary Jo Bane, associate professor of education and public policy at the Kennedy School of Government, was named yesterday as one of seven semi-finalists being considered to fill an opening as Massachusetts Commissioner of Education, the state Board of Education announced yesterday.

Bane, who last January became the first woman associate professor at the K-School, served as deputy assistant secretary of the Department of Education in the Carter Administration. She said yesterday that she was pleased and honored by the board's decision, but refused to say whether she would take the job if it were offered to her.

Bane said she did not apply for the post, but was nominated by a search committee. She added that she has yet to make up her mind as to whether she would accept the post if selected, but added that no matter what, "I have responsibilities to the Kennedy School this term."

Two advisory committees will interview the seven semi-finalists--selected from a pool of 90 applicants--and will recommend four finalists, who will be interviewed by the full board. A final decision should come in mid-October, Terry Zoulas, spokesman for the board, said yesterday.

Ira A. Jackson '70, associate dean of the K-School, praised Banes' work during her first semester, saying "the state would be fortunate to have her. The school would be delighted if she remained with us."

He refused, however, to comment on the implications for the school's affirmative action policy, saying it was a personal matter for Bane, and not one which should be discussed in an institutional context.

"She is a superb analyst, first-rate both as an academic and as an assistant. Truly versatile," said Paul N. Ylvisaker, who served as dean of the Graduate School of Education where Bane taught before her Washington stint.

Ylvisaker said the concerns confronting the new commissioner, whoever it is, will be very difficult. "They will have to do more with less. The Feds are pulling out financially, and, I think, morally."

The "unfinished business" of the Boston public schools--race relations, teacher relations--will be the greatest challenge, Ylvisaker said.

Bane declined to comment on substantive duties, and refused to discuss pertinent issues. She did say, however, that she would work to uphold current state desegregation laws.

The commissioner's job opened up in September, when Gregory Anrig, who served for eight years, left to head the Educational Testing Service.

Among the other six semi-finalists in the running for the $42,000-a-year job, five are superintendents of local public school systems.