FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – James Lynn Woodworth, a Distinguished Doctoral Fellow at the University of Arkansas, has been appointed to the position of commissioner of education statistics for the U.S. Department of Education, according to the White House.

Woodworth, who earned a doctorate in education policy from the Department of Education Reform in the College of Education and Health Professions, will complete the remainder of a six-year term that expires June 21, 2021. He was a member of the first class of the education policy doctoral program that began in 2009.

A former resident of Harrison, Woodworth earned a bachelor's degree in music education and a master's degree in educational leadership, both from Arkansas Tech University in Russellville. He taught band in Mansfield for 11 years.

After earning his doctorate, Woodworth began working in 2012 at the Center for Research on Educational Outcomes at Stanford University's Hoover Institute.

Woodworth expects to begin the new position in March.