Here’s How Jimmy Carter Changed Higher Education

Jimmy Carter, who as the 39th president of the United States created the Department of Education, died Sunday. He was 100. As president, he tackled discrimination in intercollegiate athletics, segregation in the nation’s public colleges, and fraud in student-aid programs. He sought to reduce student-loan defaults, and he oversaw a sharp increase in spending on student aid. Carter also left a lasting imprint on education policy by expanding federal aid to middle-income students. But his actions also sparked fierce debate over the federal role in education and over who should benefit from federal aid — fights that persist today.