Dr. Paige brings a wealth of experiences in the educational arena, having served as a school teacher, administrator, coach, professor, superintendent, college dean and the ultimate as U.S. Secretary of Education. We are privileged to have him join us at this time in our history.
Dr. Paige served as the 7th United States Secretary of Education from 2001 to 2005 in President George H. Bush’s administration.
Paige, born in Monticello, Mississippi, the son of public school educators, grew up in Mississippi and moved from classroom teacher to Coach to college dean and school superintendent to be the first African American to serve as the nation's education chief.
He earned a bachelor's degree from Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi. He later earned a master's degree and a Doctor of Education degree in Physical Education from Indiana University Bloomington.
Paige served in the United States Navy from 1955 to 1957 and later began his teaching career in health and physical education and coached at Hinds Agricultural High School and Hinds Community College in Mississippi, ending in 1963. From 1964 to 1968, he served as head football coach at Jackson State University where he recruited and coached Lem Barney who later played for the Detroit Lions and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Paige also served as head football coach and athletic director concurrently at Texas Southern University (TSU) from 1971 to 1980. He joined Paige also established the university's Center for Excellence in Urban Education, a research facility that concentrates on issues related to instruction and management in urban school systems. He also had a two year stint as acting president of Jackson State University from 2016-2018.
From 1989-1994 he served as a trustee and an officer of the Board of Education of the Houston Independent School District (HISD). He later coauthored the board's 'A Declaration of Beliefs and Visions', a statement of purpose and goals for the school district that called for fundamental reform through decentralization, a focus on instruction, accountability at all levels, and development of a core curriculum.
Paige became the superintendent of schools of HISD in 1994 and created the Peer Examination, Evaluation, and Redesign (PEER) program, which solicits recommendations from business and community professionals for strengthening school support services and programs. He accomplished much success in test scores that his program was touted as the “Houston Miracle." As Secretary of Education he is credited with championing the “No Child Left Behind” education reform law, which drew in part on the successes of HISD under his leadership.
Paige has served on review committees of the Texas Education Agency and the State Board of Education's Task Force on High School Education; chair of the Youth Employment Issues Subcommittee of the National Commission for Employment Policy of the U.S. Department of Labor and the board of trustees for the American College of Education. His civic engagement includes membership with the NAACP, Houston Job Training Partnership Council, the Community Advisory Board of Texas Commerce Bank, and the American Leadership Forum, board of directors of the Texas Business and Education Coalition; Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity and the 100 Hundred Black Men of Metro Houston, Inc.
His honors, awards and recognition for his educational services include HISD renaming its James Bowie Elementary School, the Rod Paige Elementary School and the Monticello, Mississippi renaming its middle school Rod Paige Middle School. He also holds honorary doctoral degrees from the University of Houston and Indiana University-Bloomington.
The Program Committee members are Mrs. Johni Walker, Ms. Andrea Miller, Mrs. Katherine Reed and Dr. Veda Brown.
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