Two Brandeis alumni, Peter H. Appel '85 and Martha J. Kanter '70, have been nominated for positions in President Barack Obama's current U.S. administration, according to a White House press release April 2. Appel has been appointed to the post of administrator, Research and Innovative Technology Administration within the Department of Transportation, while Kanter has been nominated for under secretary of education by Obama.

According to the RITA Web site, "RITA brings together important data, research and technology transfer assets of the Department of Transportation.

The website further writes that "RITA also provides strategic direction and oversight of U.S. DOT's Intelligent Transportation Systems Program."

"RITA coordinates the US DOT's research programs and is charged with advancing the depoloyment of cross cutting technologies to improve our Nation's transportation system," according to the Web site.

"The Under Secretary oversees policies, programs, and activities related to postsecondary education, vocational and adult education, and federal student aid," according to the U.S. Department of Education Web site.

According to a White House press release, "Appel earned his bachelor's degree from Brandeis University in Economics and Computer Science with Highest Honors, and received his Master of Science in Transportation from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology." He has worked extensively within the transportation and infrastructure fields, including a position as Special Assistant to the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, and as Assistant Director for Pricing and Yield Management at Amtrak.

Currently, Appel is a principal with the global management consulting firm of A.T. Kearney, Inc.

Kanter, who has been tapped for the second-highest post in the Department of Education, received a bachelor's degree in Sociology from Brandeis before doing her graduate studies at Harvard University and the University of San Francisco, according to her biography on the Foothill De Anza Community College District Web site. She has served as director of the district, one of the largest in the country, since 2003, before which she was president of De Anza College for 10 years, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Kanter is currently a director at the Foothill De Anza Community College District.

Appel and Kanter could not be reached for comment by press time.

Dean of Arts and Sciences Adam Jaffe said, "[Brandeis] has a lot of alumni out there who are very interested in the public sphere, so it doesn't surprise me that some are landing in government, particularly in an administration that has the kind of activist orientation of the Obama administration."

When asked what it was about Brandeis that prepared graduates for these kind of careers, Jaffe said "I think it's two things: . We teach our students how to think, and that's really important. Separate from that, we do have an orientation as the connected University. . Our students tend to be very engaged in the world.