United States Secretary of Education
Seal of the Department of Education
Flag of the secretary
Incumbent
Miguel Cardona
since March 2, 2021
Department of Education
StyleMr. Secretary (informal)
The Honorable (formal)
Reports toPresident
SeatLyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Building, Washington, D.C.
AppointerPresident
with Senate advice and consent
Term lengthNo fixed term
Constituting instrument20 U.S.C. § 3411
FormationNovember 30, 1979; 44 years ago (1979-11-30)
First holderShirley Hufstedler
SuccessionSixteenth[1]
DeputyDeputy Secretary
SalaryExecutive Schedule, Level I
Websiteed.gov

The United States secretary of education is the head of the United States Department of Education. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States, and the federal government, on policies, programs, and activities related to all education in the United States. As a member of the Cabinet of the United States, the secretary is sixteenth in the line of succession to the presidency.[2]

The current secretary of education is Miguel Cardona, who was confirmed by the Senate on March 1, 2021.[3]

Function

The United States secretary of education is a member of the president's Cabinet and is the fifteenth in the United States presidential line of succession.[4] This secretary deals with federal influence over education policy, and heads the United States Department of Education.[5]

The secretary is advised by the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity, an advisory committee, on "matters related to accreditation and to the eligibility and certification process for institutions of higher education."[6]

List of secretaries

Prior to the creation of the Department of Education in 1979, Education was within the ambit of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.

Parties

  Democrat   Republican

Status
  Denotes an Acting Secretary of Education

Health, Education, and Welfare

No. Portrait Name State of residence Took office Left office President(s)
1 Oveta Culp Hobby Texas April 11, 1953 July 31, 1955 2-year in Office Dwight D. Eisenhower
2 Marion B. Folsom New York August 2, 1955 July 31, 1958 4-year in office
3 Arthur S. Flemming Ohio August 1, 1958 January 19, 1961 4-years in office
4 Abraham A. Ribicoff Connecticut January 21, 1961 July 13, 1962 1-year in office John F. Kennedy
5 Anthony J. Celebrezze Ohio July 31, 1962 August 17, 1965 4-years in office
Lyndon B. Johnson
6 John W. Gardner California August 18, 1965 March 1, 1968 4-years in office
7 Wilbur J. Cohen Michigan May 16, 1968 January 20, 1969 1-year and 8 moths in office
8 Robert H. Finch California January 21, 1969 June 23, 1970 1-year in office Richard Nixon
9 Elliot L. Richardson Massachusetts June 24, 1970 January 29, 1973 3-years in office
10 Caspar W. Weinberger California February 12, 1973 August 8, 1975 2-years in office
Gerald Ford
11 F. David Mathews Alabama August 8, 1975 January 20, 1977 2-years in office
12 Joseph A. Califano Jr. District of Columbia January 25, 1977 August 3, 1979 2-years Jimmy Carter
13 Patricia Roberts Harris August 3, 1979 May 4, 1980 1-year [7]

United States Secretary of Education

Source[8]

No. Portrait Name State of residence Took office Left office President
1 Shirley Hufstedler California November 30, 1979 January 20, 1981 2-years in office Jimmy Carter
2 Terrel Bell Utah January 22, 1981 January 20, 1985 4-years in office Ronald Reagan
William Bennett North Carolina February 6, 1985 September 20, 1988 4-years in office
3
4 Lauro Cavazos Texas September 20, 1988 December 12, 1990 2-years in office
George H. W. Bush
– Ted Sanders
Acting 		Illinois December 12, 1990 March 22, 1991
5 Lamar Alexander Tennessee March 22, 1991 January 20, 1993 2-years in office
6 Richard Riley South Carolina January 21, 1993 January 20, 2001 8-years in office Bill Clinton
7 Rod Paige Texas January 20, 2001 January 20, 2005 4-years George W. Bush
8 Margaret Spellings January 20, 2005 January 20, 2009 4-years in office
9 Arne Duncan[9] Illinois January 21, 2009 January 1, 2016. 7-years in office Barack Obama
10 John King Jr.[9] New York January 1, 2016 March 14, 2016
March 14, 2016 January 20, 2017 10 months in office
– Phil Rosenfelt
Acting 		Virginia January 20, 2017 February 7, 2017 Donald Trump
11 Betsy DeVos Michigan February 7, 2017 January 8, 2021 4-years in office
– Mick Zais
Acting 		South Carolina January 8, 2021 January 20, 2021
– Phil Rosenfelt
Acting 		Virginia January 20, 2021 March 2, 2021 Joe Biden
12 Miguel Cardona Connecticut March 2, 2021 Incumbent

See also

References

  1. ^ "3 U.S. Code § 19 - Vacancy in offices of both President and Vice President; officers eligible to act". Legal Information Institute. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
  2. ^ "Order of presidential succession". www.usa.gov. Archived from the original on September 15, 2023. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  3. ^ Watson, Kathryn (March 2, 2021). "Senate confirms Miguel Cardona as education secretary". CBS News. Archived from the original on September 15, 2023. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
  4. ^ Wilson, Reid (October 20, 2013). "The Presidential order of succession". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  5. ^ "US Department of Education Principal Office Functional Statements". United States Department of Education. Archived from the original on April 10, 2023. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  6. ^ NACIQI Staff (November 23, 2016). "Welcome". Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education, National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI). Retrieved November 23, 2016.
  7. ^ Harris was Secretary on May 4, 1980, when the office changed names from Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to Secretary of Health and Human Services. Because the department merely changed names, she did not need to be confirmed again, and her term continued uninterrupted.
  8. ^ "The Education Secretaries Miguel Cardona Would Follow". Education Writers Association. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  9. ^ a b Eilperin, Juliet; Layton, Lyndsey; Brown, Emma (October 2, 2015). "U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan to step down at end of year". Washington Post. Retrieved November 23, 2016.

External links

U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) Preceded byJennifer Granholmas Secretary of Energy Order of precedence of the United Statesas Secretary of Education Succeeded byDenis McDonoughas Secretary of Veterans Affairs U.S. presidential line of succession Preceded bySecretary of EnergyJennifer GranholmIneligible 16th in line Succeeded bySecretary of Veterans AffairsDenis McDonough
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