It’s a red letter day for UT Austin, since Pres. George Bush has nominated assistant professor Benjamin Eric Sasse to become assistant secretary for planning and evaluation in the US Department of Health and Human Services.

The White House press release talks up Sasse as an assistant professor at UT’s prestigious Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, and an expert on questions of organizational strategy, leadership and management. What they kind of gloss over, or completely ignore, is that he’s the same Benjamin E. Sasse that was executive editor of Modern Reformation, a publication that calls for “a new Reformation in American Christianity” and a “pan-Protestant coalition” while advocating a literalist interpretation of scripture. He also co-edited Here We Stand!: A Call from Confessing Evangelicals.

Can’t think why they’d leave that off his resume.

This article appears in July 27 • 2007.

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The Chronicle's first Culture Desk editor, Richard has reported on Austin's growing film production and appreciation scene for over a decade. A graduate of the universities of York, Stirling, and UT-Austin, a Rotten Tomatoes certified critic, and eight-time Best of Austin winner, he's currently at work on two books and a play.