SLM Corporation, the nation's largest private student loan lender, commonly known as Sallie Mae, will create 2,000 new jobs by returning its outsourced positions to the United States. Company officials also announced that 600 of those jobs would be filled at its customer service and information technology facility in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, as confirmed by the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader. "For 37 years, we have been dedicated to helping America's students enhance their lives through an investment in higher education," says Albert L. Lord, Sallie Mae's CEO, in a company statement. "We also contribute economically to the many communities where we operate our business. The current economic environment has caused our communities to struggle with job losses. They need jobs, and we will put 2,000 of them into U.S. facilities as soon as we possibly can." The company expects to hire the positions over the next 18 months and has not yet specified how they will be allocated, other than the Pennsylvania jobs. Sallie Mae has 20 operations centers in the United States; its headquarters is in Virginia.