Washington, D.C.—The American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) is pleased to announce that Barmak Nassirian has joined the association as its new director of federal relations and policy analysis. In this role, Nassirian will coordinate federal relations and legislative, regulatory and public policy at the federal level; this position reports to the senior vice president for government relations and policy analysis. 

Nassirian is returning to AASCU after having served the association from 1990-1998 as the director of federal policy analysis. This was followed by nearly 15 years of executive management experience with the Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers. A nationally known policy analyst and expert on federal student aid, Nassirian brings with him an extensive network of contacts from within key federal agencies, the Obama administration, the media, those on both sides of the aisle on Capitol Hill, and the broader national higher education community.

“We are very pleased to welcome Barmak Nassirian back to AASCU,” says AASCU President Muriel Howard. “His extensive experience advocating on behalf of public higher education and his historic commitment to students will be of great benefit to AASCU and our membership as we confront the many critical issues that lay ahead.”

In his prior service with AASCU, Nassirian provided analytical support, designed federal cost estimation models, and participated in policy development and advocacy for the 1992 and 1998 Higher Education Act (HEA) reauthorizations. In addition, he represented the association on four negotiated rulemaking committees charged with developing regulations to enact the 1992 Amendments and the Student Loan Reform Act of 1993. He has been successful in building coalitions with key stakeholders and serving as a voice on major higher education issues, illustrated, for example, by his testimony before House and Senate education committees. 

Nassirian is an avid supporter of the AASCU mission and will serve as a primary strategist in advancing the association’s policy agenda with Congress and administration as it involves the Higher Education Act reauthorization.

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