Who Will Be the Next US Secretary of Education?
Obama Begins Selecting Top Picks for Administration
Nov 6, 2008
While Americans and Obama supporters around the world were still cleaning up from election night parties, President-Elect Obama was already hard at work selecting his new Cabinet and White House staff. Former Clinton Administration White House Chief of Staff John Podesta, Director of the Center for American Progress, is leading up the transition team for the new Obama administration.
The first announcement? Longtime friend and number three Democrat in the House Illinois Congressman Rahm Emanuel has agreed to be the White House Chief of Staff. The blogosphere is a frenzy of wagers for other top positions: Can Secretary Robert Gates defend his current post, or will Chuck Hagel (R-Nebraska) take his place? New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson is on the short list of those rumored to become the next Secretary of State; and longtime confidant and spokesperson for Obama Robert Gibbs is likely to be the next Press Secretary. Who will be the person to replace current US Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings?
Top Contenders for US Education Secretary
Education, an issue that received little media attention during the campaign season, is nonetheless an important priority for the new Obama administration. Here’s the list of top contenders for the next Secretary of Education:
- David Boren: currently the President of the University of Oklahoma, David Boren (D) served as governor of the conservative state of Oklahoma from 1975 to 1979 and in the United States Senate from 1979 to 1994.
- Linda Darling-Hammond: an acclaimed educator and Professor of Education at Stanford University, Darling-Hammond served as education advisor to the Obama campaign. This Yale-educated former teacher is author to more than a dozen books and more than 300 articles on education policy and practice, and is considered to be one of the front runners for the position of Education Secretary.
- Arne Duncan: Chief Executive Officer of Chicago Public Schools since 2001, Arne Duncan graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1987. He has three things in his favor and in common with the president-elect: he went to Harvard, he lives in Chicago, and he’s an avid basketball player. Rumor has it that Duncan was part of the crew that shot hoops with Obama on election morning.
- Governor Thomas Kean: Politico is speculating that former Gov. Thomas Kean (R), who served as the 48th Governor of New Jersey from 1982 to 1990, may be up for the position. In 2002, Kean served as the Chairman of the 9/11 Commission, the group responsible for investigating the causes of the September 11th attacks. Kean also served as the president of Drew University from 1990 until 2005.
- Caroline Kennedy: daughter of US President John F Kennedy, Kennedy has been mentioned as a distant possibility, but she's also been rumored as an Ambassador to the United Nations. Her comparison of Obama as a “president like my father” was considered to be an important endorsement for the campaign.
- Joel Klein: Klein became the NYC Public Schools Chancellor in 2002 after serving in various capacities in the public and private sectors, including serving during the Clinton administration. His program, Children First, has a number of reforms that are considered by many to be transforming NYC Public Schools.
- U.S. Rep. George Miller: considered by many to be a favorite for the position, Rep. George Miller (D-CA) is the current chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, and is a leading advocate in Congress on education. Miller is the author of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, the largest expansion of financial aid for college since the GI Bill.
- Hilary C. Pennington: Ms. Pennington is Director of Special Initiatives of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and was formerly Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress. It's good to be brilliant, and even better to have the right connections.
- Colin Powell: Powell was the 65th United States Secretary of State from 2001-2005 under George W. Bush. A former General in the United States Army, Powell also served as National Security Advisor from 1987–1989 and as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1989-1993. The longtime Republican notably endorsed Barack Obama as President, and is also being considered by many as a likely contender for Secretary State, yet again, in the new Obama administration.
A Tough Job Ahead
Like President Obama, the next US Education Secretary is inheriting a mountain of problems. The long embattled No Child Left Behind Act, the Bush administration’s signature education agenda, is slated for serious revisions or a shallow grave. The country’s economic crisis has seen massive layoffs in large urban districts and state education agencies borrowing from savings to make payroll. In such dire economic times, Obama’s proposed additional $18 million per year for education may be a tough promise to keep.
