Arne Duncan served as the ninth US Secretary of Education from 2009 to 2015 under President Barack Obama. Mr. Duncan’s tenure was marked by several significant accomplishments on behalf of American students and teachers. He led new efforts to encourage labor and management to work together as never before, and during Mr. Duncan’s tenure, the department has launched a comprehensive effort to transform the teaching profession. Mr. Duncan helped secure increases in the Pell grant program to boost the number of young Americans attending college and receiving postsecondary degrees, and the income-based repayment program was also introduced during Mr. Duncan’s tenure.
Prior to joining the Obama Administration, Mr. Duncan served as chief executive officer of Chicago Public Schools. From 2001 to 2008, he won praise for uniting the city’s stakeholders behind an education agenda that included opening 100 new schools; expanding after-school, summer learning, early childhood, and college access programs; dramatically boosting the caliber of teachers; and building public-private partnerships around a variety of education initiatives.
Mr. Duncan graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1987, where he served as co-captain of the basketball team and was named a first team Academic All-American.
