February 13, 2011

For-Profit College Boards Tap Leaders From Government and Nonprofit Higher Education

For-Profit College Boards Tap Leaders From Government and Nonprofit Higher Education 1

AP Images

Columbia U. President Lee C. Bollinger is a director of the Washington Post Company, which owns Kaplan Inc.

Enlarge Image
close For-Profit College Boards Tap Leaders From Government and Nonprofit Higher Education 1

AP Images

Columbia U. President Lee C. Bollinger is a director of the Washington Post Company, which owns Kaplan Inc.

By Kelly Field and Paul Fain

The last time the Education Department cracked down on for-profit colleges, Leslie T. Thornton was the one doing the cracking. As chief of staff to former secretary Richard W. Riley, she oversaw the ouster of hundreds of "bad actors" from the federal student-aid programs in the 1990s. Most of the colleges closed, unable to survive without taxpayer support.

These days, she is on the other side of the table, defending the for-profit sector against regulation that could cut off aid to