Currently a Research Fellow for The Independent Institute, C. Ronald Kimberling has served as president or chancellor of four institutions of higher education over a career that spans five decades. From 1981-88, he held several senior leadership posts in the U.S. Department of Education. He was appointed by President Ronald Reagan as the youngest-ever Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education in 1986, the nation's highest-ranking official for higher education. He also served as Executive Director of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation. The author earned a Ph.D. in English from the University of Southern California. He also holds three earned master's degree and five honorary doctorates. He has published and presented extensively on the subject of education and politics and has served on numerous corporate, higher education, and governmental boards and commissions. He is the author of "Kenneth Burke's Dramatism and Popular Arts" and is a frequent contributor to "The Hill."