Margaret Spellings facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Margaret Spellings
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Spellings in 2016
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| 8th United States Secretary of Education | |
| In office January 20, 2005 – January 20, 2009 |
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| President | George W. Bush |
| Deputy | Raymond Simon |
| Preceded by | Rod Paige |
| Succeeded by | Arne Duncan |
| Director of the Domestic Policy Council | |
| In office January 30, 2002 – January 5, 2005 |
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| President | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | John Bridgeland |
| Succeeded by | Claude Allen |
| President of the University of North Carolina | |
| In office March 1, 2016 – March 1, 2019 |
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| Preceded by | Thomas W. Ross |
| Succeeded by | William L. Roper (interim) |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Margaret M. Dudar
November 30, 1957 Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouses | Gregg LaMontagne (divorced) Robert Spellings (divorced) |
| Children | 2 daughters |
| Education | University of Houston (BA) |
Margaret Spellings (born November 30, 1957) is an American leader in government and non-profit organizations. She is currently the president and CEO of the Bipartisan Policy Center.
Before this, she was the eighth United States secretary of education from 2005 to 2009. She also led the University of North Carolina System from 2016 to 2019, which includes seventeen campuses. From 2019 to 2023, she was the president and CEO of Texas 2036.
Margaret Spellings worked for George W. Bush when he was Governor of Texas and later as President. She helped create the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act. This law aimed to improve schools for younger students. She served as education secretary for all four years of President Bush's second term. During this time, she started a group called the Commission on the Future of Higher Education. This group looked for ways to improve colleges and universities.
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Early Life and Education
Margaret M. Dudar was born on November 30, 1957, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Her family moved to Houston, Texas when she was in third grade. She finished high school at Sharpstown High School in 1975.
In 1979, she earned a degree in political science from the University of Houston. She worked for an education reform group under Texas Governor William P. Clements. She also worked for the Texas Association of School Boards. Before joining President George W. Bush's team, Spellings was a political director for his first campaign for governor in 1994. Later, she was a senior advisor to him when he was governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000.
Serving as Secretary of Education
After Rod Paige left his role, President George W. Bush chose Margaret Spellings to be the next Secretary of Education. She was nominated on November 17, 2004. The U.S. Senate approved her on January 20, 2005. This was also the day President Bush's second term began. She was officially sworn in on January 31, 2005. She was the second woman to hold this important position.
Understanding No Child Left Behind
In April 2005, Margaret Spellings spoke on a TV show called The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. She talked about how Connecticut was resisting the No Child Left Behind Act. She said that the state's actions showed "the soft bigotry of low expectations." This phrase means expecting less from some students, especially those from certain backgrounds.
She explained that there was a big difference in how well African-American and white students were doing in Connecticut. She felt it was wrong for the state to look for ways to avoid the law. Instead, she believed they should focus on helping all students. She said the "No Child Left Behind" law was created to fight against this idea of low expectations.
Improving College Education
In September 2005, Secretary Spellings announced a new group. It was called the Secretary of Education's Commission on the Future of Higher Education. People also called it the Spellings Commission. This group was asked to suggest a national plan for improving college education.
They focused on how well colleges were preparing students for jobs in the 21st century. Some of their ideas were debated. For example, they suggested that colleges should focus more on training students for specific jobs. They also thought colleges should support research that could lead to new products or businesses.
The commission also looked at how well high schools prepared students for college. Spellings said this work was a natural next step after the "No Child Left Behind" reforms for younger students. She wanted to take a fresh look at the entire education system.
After Government Service
After leaving her role as Secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings started her own education consulting company. It was called Margaret Spellings & Company and was based in Washington, D.C.. She also worked as a senior advisor for the Boston Consulting Group and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Currently, Spellings is a co-chair of the Future of Tech Commission. This group focuses on technology and privacy rules.
Leading the University of North Carolina (UNC)
On October 23, 2015, Margaret Spellings was chosen to be the president of the University of North Carolina system. She started this role on March 1, 2016. She took over from Thomas W. Ross. She was the second woman to serve as president of the University of North Carolina.
As president, she was in charge of the seventeen different colleges and universities that make up the UNC system. Each school has its own leader, called a chancellor. Her yearly salary for this job was $775,000.
Removing a Statue
On August 20, 2018, protesters at the University of North Carolina pulled down the Silent Sam statue. This statue honored Confederate soldiers. Ms. Spellings released a statement saying that these actions were "unacceptable, dangerous, and incomprehensible." She added that destroying public property would not be allowed.
Resignation from UNC
In October 2018, Spellings announced that she would be leaving her position. Her resignation became official on March 1, 2019.
Future of Tech Commission
In April 2021, Spellings helped start the Future of Tech Commission. She co-chairs it with Common Sense Media founder Jim Steyer and former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick. This commission aims to find solutions for technology policies. They focus on topics like privacy, fair competition, digital access for everyone, and how online platforms manage content. Their goal is to help President Biden and Congress create new tech laws.
See also
In Spanish: Margaret Spellings para niños
- List of female United States Cabinet members
