Comings and Goings

A regular feature of GovExec.com, Comings and Goings announces the arrivals and departures of top federal managers and executives. To submit an announcement, e-mail it to webmaster@govexec.com or fax it to 202-739-8511.

C O M I N G S

Following Census Director Martha Farnsworth Riche's abrupt resignation in January, Commerce Secretary William Daley has picked James F. Holmes, the Census Bureau's Atlanta regional director, to serve as acting director for the bureau while the administration searches for a new census chief. Holmes is a veteran of three decennial censuses. He started with the bureau in 1968 as a survey statistician, and previously headed up the Philadelphia regional office.

President Clinton this week announced his plan to nominate U.S. Coast Guard Vice Admiral James M. Loy to be commandant for the Coast Guard. During his 34 years of service, Loy has commanded four Coast Guard cutters, completed 43 combat patrols in Vietnam, and served as the service's chief of staff.

Former Office of Management and Budget Deputy Director John Koskinen is reportedly returning to the federal government after only six months away. He is slated to head up a White House task force on dealing with the Year 2000 problem.

American Federation of Government Employees President Bobby Harnage has won a seat on the executive council of the AFL-CIO. AFGE is the largest federal employees union, representing 600,000 workers.

G O I N G S

The upper ranks of the Pentagon's information technology command are thinning. According to a report in Federal Computer Week, the Defense Department's Anthony M. Valletta, acting assistant secretary of Defense for command, control, communications and intelligence, is taking a buyout, along with Cynthia Rand, the principal director for information management in Valletta's office; Samuel Worthington, director of information technology; and Daniel Grulke, director for plans and integration.

In another major technology departure, IRS Chief Information Officer Arthur A. Gross resigned Tuesday, reportedly over differences with new IRS Commissioner Charles Rossotti. Gross's departure has observers worried about the future of systems modernization efforts at the troubled agency.

K U D O S

Assistant Attorney General Lois Schiffer and Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nancy Firestone, who moonlight as professors of environmental law at the Georgetown University Law Center, have been named adjunct professors of the year at the prestigious school. The two lawyers team-teach their classes and work together in the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division.