Richard Riley

The Honorable Richard Riley
6th United States Secretary of Education
In office January 21, 1993 – January 20, 2001
President	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Lamar Alexander
Succeeded by	Rod Paige
111th Governor of South Carolina
In office January 10, 1979 – January 14, 1987
Lieutenant	Nancy Stevenson Michael Daniel
Preceded by	James Edwards
Succeeded by	Carroll Campbell
Personal details
Born	Richard Wilson Riley (1933-01-02) January 2, 1933 Greenville, South Carolina, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Ann Yarborough
Alma mater	Furman University University of South Carolina, Columbia
Religion	Methodism
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1954–1955

Richard Wilson Riley (born January 2, 1933) is an American politician, the United States Secretary of Education under President Bill Clinton and the 111th Governor of South Carolina. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Riley is the only Democrat to serve two consecutive terms as Governor in the time since the state constitution was amended to allow Governors to serve consecutive terms.

Early life and career

Born on January 2, 1933 in Greenville, South Carolina, to Edward P. "Ted" Riley^[1] and the former Martha (née Dixon) Riley. He attended Furman University and graduated from University of South Carolina.

Riley served in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1963 to 1966. He served in the South Carolina Senate from 1967 to 1977. Riley was elected governor of South Carolina in 1978. During his first term, the state constitution was amended to allow governors to serve two terms. Riley was re-elected in 1982, 69-31 percent, over the Republican former journalist W. D. Workman, Jr., of Greenville, and served until 1987.

As Governor, Riley presided over the resumption of executions, despite his personal opposition to the death penalty.^[2]

Riley's gubernatorial accomplishments centered upon improving funding and support for education and industrial recruitment. He named Max Heller, the mayor of Greenville who had lost the 1978 election for the United States House of Representatives from South Carolina's 4th congressional district to Republican Carroll A. Campbell, as the chairman of the South Carolina State Development Board. In this position, Heller recruited such businesses as Michelin North America and Digital Computer. State business recruitment under Heller surpassed $1 billion.^[3] Heller pursued industrial diversification; during his five years as chairman of the development board, more than 65,000 jobs were created statewide.^[4]

In 1993, President Bill Clinton appointed Riley to his Cabinet as Secretary of Education. Riley served in this post until Clinton left office in 2001. Also in 1993, President Clinton approached Riley about an appointment to the United States Supreme Court, which Riley turned down. Clinton ultimately appointed Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Since then, he has served as a partner in the law firm of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, LLP, and served as a board member of the Albert Shanker Institute. On June 27, 2007 he endorsed Hillary Clinton for President and served as a Campaign Co-Chair.^[5]

In 1999, Furman University, Riley's alma mater, created the Richard W. Riley Institute of Government, Politics and Public Leadership in his honor. In 2000, Riley received the Foreign Language Advocacy Award from the Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages in recognition of his support for education and especially for his repeated recommendations that all students learn a second language.^[6] In 2008, Walden University renamed its college of education the Richard W. Riley College of Education and Leadership, in honor of Riley's "commitment to students, his legacy of improving access to higher education, and his focus on diversity in education."^[7] Winthrop University also renamed its college of education after Riley in 2000.

World Justice Project

Riley serves as an Honorary Co-Chair for the World Justice Project. The World Justice Project works to lead a global, multidisciplinary effort to strengthen the Rule of Law for the development of communities of opportunity and equity.

Personal life

Riley and his wife, the former Ann O. Yarborough, have three sons and one daughter.

See also

• Bill Clinton Supreme Court candidates

References

• U.S. Department of Education Bio
• The Political Graveyard
• CNN AllPolitics – Players – Richard Riley
• Nelson, Mullins, Riley, and Scarborough Biography
• Richard W. Riley College of Education and Leadership
• The Riley Institute
• Furman University

External links

• SCIway Biography of Richard Wilson Riley
• NGA Biography of Richard Wilson Riley

Governors of South Carolina J. Rutledge Lowndes J. Rutledge Mathews Guerard Moultrie T. Pinckney C. Pinckney Moultrie Vanderhorst C. Pinckney E. Rutledge Drayton J. Richardson P. Hamilton C. Pinckney Drayton Middleton Alston D. Williams A. Pickens Geddes Bennett Wilson Manning I Taylor Miller J. Hamilton Hayne McDuffie Butler Noble Henagan Richardson II Hammond Aiken Johnson Seabrook Means J. Manning Adams Allston Gist F. Pickens Bonham Magrath Perry Orr Scott Moses Chamberlain Hampton Simpson Jeter Hagood Thompson Sheppard Richardson III Tillman Evans Ellerbe McSweeney Heyward Ansel Blease Smith Manning III Cooper Harvey McLeod Richards Blackwood Johnston Maybank Harley Jefferies Johnston R. Williams Thurmond Byrnes Timmerman Hollings Russell McNair West Edwards Riley Campbell Beasley Hodges Sanford Haley

United States Secretaries of Education Hufstedler Bell Bennett Cavazos Alexander Riley Paige Spellings Duncan King (acting)

Cabinet of President Bill Clinton (1993–2001)   Cabinet Secretary of State Warren M. Christopher (1993–97) Madeleine Albright (1997–2001) Secretary of the Treasury Lloyd Bentsen (1993–94) Robert Rubin (1995–99) Larry Summers (1999–2001) Secretary of Defense Les Aspin (1993–94) William J. Perry (1994–97) William S. Cohen (1997–2001) Attorney General Janet Reno (1993–2001) Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt (1993–2001) Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy (1993–94) Dan Glickman (1995–2001) Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown (1993–96) Mickey Kantor (1996–97) William M. Daley (1997–2000) Norman Mineta (2000–01) Secretary of Labor Robert Reich (1993–97) Alexis M. Herman (1997–2001) Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala (1993–2001) Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Henry G. Cisneros (1993–97) Andrew M. Cuomo (1997–2001) Secretary of Transportation Federico Peña (1993–97) Rodney Slater (1997–2001) Secretary of Energy Hazel O'Leary (1993–97) Federico Peña (1997–98) Bill Richardson (1998–2001) Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley (1993–2001) Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jesse Brown (1993–97) Togo West (1998–2000) * Acting secretary   Cabinet-level Vice President Al Gore (1993–2001) White House Chief of Staff Mack McLarty (1993–94) Leon Panetta (1994–97) Erskine Bowles (1997–98) John Podesta (1998–2001) Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Carol M. Browner (1993–2001) Ambassador to the United Nations Madeleine Albright (1993–97) Bill Richardson (1997–98) Richard C. Holbrooke (1999–2001) Director of the Office of Management and Budget Leon Panetta (1993–94) Alice Rivlin (1994–96) Franklin D. Raines (1996–98) Jack Lew (1998–2001) Director of National Drug Control Policy Lee P. Brown (1993–95) Barry McCaffrey (1996–2001) Trade Representative Mickey Kantor (1993–97) Charlene Barshefsky (1997–2001) Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency James L. Witt (1993–2001)* Director of Central Intelligence R. James Woolsey, Jr. (1993–95) John M. Deutch (1995–96) George Tenet (1997–2001) Chairperson of the Council of Economic Advisers Laura Tyson (1993–95) Joseph Stiglitz (1995–97) Janet Yellen (1997–99) Martin Neil Baily (1999–2001) Administrator of the Small Business Administration Philip Lader (1994–97) Aída M. Álverez (1997–2001) * took office in 1993, raised to cabinet-rank in 1996