Shirley Hufstedler

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Shirley M. Hufstedler is sworn in as the nation's first Secretary of Education by Chief Justice Warren Burger, right, while her husband, Seth, holds a Bible, on Dec. 6, 1979. President Jimmy Carter looks on at left.
Shirley Hufstedler, First U.S. Education Secretary: Biography and Achievements
Shirley Hufstedler was the first U.S. Secretary of Education, serving under President Jimmy Carter from 1979 to 1981.
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Federal Three Ex-Education Secretaries Have Schools Named for Them. Could It Happen for Betsy DeVos?
Three former U.S. education secretaries have K-12 schools named for them. Could the current secretary, Betsy DeVos, ever join the club?
Corey Mitchell, July 26, 2017
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4 min read
Shirley M. Hufstedler is sworn in as the nation's first Secretary of Education by Chief Justice Warren Burger, right, while her husband, Seth, holds a Bible, on Dec. 6, 1979. President Jimmy Carter looks on at left.
Shirley M. Hufstedler is sworn in as the nation's first Secretary of Education by Chief Justice Warren Burger, right, while her husband, Seth, holds a Bible, on Dec. 6, 1979. President Jimmy Carter looks on at left.
AP-File
Law & Courts First-Ever Education Secretary Had a Groundbreaking Tenure at the Department
Shirley M. Hufstedler, who died March 30 at age 90, put her stamp on the new agency at a turbulent time during the Carter administration.
Andrew Ujifusa, April 1, 2016
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6 min read
Shirley M. Hufstedler is sworn in as the nation's first Secretary of Education by Chief Justice Warren Burger, right, while her husband, Seth, holds a Bible, on Dec. 6, 1979. President Jimmy Carter looks on at left.
Shirley M. Hufstedler is sworn in as the nation's first Secretary of Education by Chief Justice Warren Burger, right, while her husband, Seth, holds a Bible, on Dec. 6, 1979. President Jimmy Carter looks on at left.
AP-File
Federal Shirley M. Hufstedler, First U.S. Secretary of Education, Dies at Age 90
Appointed as the nation's first secretary of education in 1979 by President Jimmy Carter, she previously had been a federal appeals court judge and a California appeals court judge.
Andrew Ujifusa, March 30, 2016
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2 min read
Education Standards Issue Puts Ex-Education Secretaries at Odds
All five former U.S. Secretaries of Education, meeting in a forum last month in Atlanta, agreed that it is important to hold students to high standards.
Mark Pitsch, January 12, 1993
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3 min read
Education Ex-Education Secretaries Lament Issue's Low Priority in Campaign
The four former secretaries of education convened here just nine days before this week's election for a panel discussion that was dominated by talk of politics, the federal role in education, and President Bush's America 2000 education reform strategy.
Mark Pitsch, November 4, 1992
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4 min read
Education Four Former Secretaries Each Put Own Spin on What Ails Schools
The four former secretaries of education who met here for an unprecedented panel discussion earlier this month may have occupied the same office, but they took from it divergent views on what ails the U.S. education system.
Julie A. Miller, November 20, 1991
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7 min read
Education Cuts Will Do Long-Term Damage, Former Secretary Hufstedler Says
Former U.S. Secretary of Education Shirley M. Hufstedler warned last week that "the budget struggles on the Potomac right now will have very serious consequences for every aspect of the American educational systems not only in this decade, but well into the next century.
Eileen White, May 5, 1982
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1 min read