Frankford native earns federal inspector post
An Indian River High School graduate has been named inspector general of the U.S. Department of Education.
Sandra Deloach Bruce is the second Black woman to be Senate-confirmed as a federal inspector genera, the sixth Senate-confirmed inspector general for the education department, and the first person of color to be confirmed for the post. Bruce was born in Lewes, raised in Frankford, and graduated from Indian River High School.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in accounting from Fayetteville State University, and then a master of science degree in information systems from Hawaii Pacific University.
Bruce has more than 30 years of experience directing, overseeing, managing, and conducting complex audits, inspections, and investigative-related programs. She joined the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General in 2014 as deputy inspector general and has been leading the office since 2018 when Inspector General Kathleen S. Tighe retired. In 2021, Bruce was nominated by President Biden to be the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Education. She was confirmed for the position by the U.S. Senate in December 2021.
Prior to joining the OIG, Bruce was the assistant inspector general for inspections at the U.S. Department of Energy, a position she also held at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency from 2006 to 2009. From 1997 to 2006, Bruce was a leader with the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, directing its Law Enforcement and Postal Service Security unit and its Computer Assisted Audit Techniques unit. From 1986 to 1997, Bruce was with the U.S. Army Audit Agency, where she began her public service career as an auditor, rising to audit supervisor and associate program director. Bruce was also a legislative fellow for Sen. Carl Levin.
Bruce has received numerous awards for her work, including a Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency Award for Excellence, Distinguished Achievement Awards, Exceptional Performance Award, and is a recipient of the Excellence in Government Leadership Award presented by the Association of Government Accountants-Philadelphia Chapter. Bruce is active in the inspector general community, currently serving as a member of Pandemic Response Accountability Committee where she chairs the PRAC's Government Accountability Office and State and Local Oversight Subcommittee and is a member of the PRAC's Financial Sector Work Group. Bruce also serves as chair of the CIGIE Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Work Group, and is a member of the CIGIE Audit Committee and CIGIE Information Technology Committee. Bruce previously served on the CIGIE Deputy Inspector General Work Group and the Intelligence Community Inspector General's Assistant Inspectors General for Inspections Work Group.
