Rod Paige

Rod Paige
Rod Paige
7th United States Secretary of Education
	In office; January 20, 2001 – January 20, 2005
President	George W. Bush
Preceded by	Richard Riley
Succeeded by	Margaret Spellings
Superintendent of the Houston Independent School District
	In office; 1994–2001
Preceded by	Yvonne Gonzales (interim)
Succeeded by	Kaye Stripling (interim)
Personal details
Born	June 17, 1933 (age 91); Monticello, Mississippi, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Gloria Crawford (m. 1956⁠–⁠1982); Stephanie Nellons
Children	1
Education	Jackson State University (BA); Indiana University Bloomington (MA, EdD)
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Navy
Years of service	1955–1957

Roderick Raynor "Rod" Paige (born June 17, 1933), served as the 7th United States Secretary of Education from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African American to serve as the nation's education chief. He earned a bachelor's degree from Jackson State University in Mississippi and a Master's degree and an Ed.D from Indiana University Bloomington. He also holds an honorary doctoral degree from the University of Houston presented to him in 2000.

Paige was sitting with George W. Bush at the Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Sarasota, Florida, when Bush received the news that a second plane had hit the World Trade Center in the September 11, 2001 attacks.

On November 15, 2004, Paige announced his resignation after overseeing the President's education agenda for four years. White House domestic policy adviser Margaret Spellings was nominated as his successor. The U.S. Senate confirmed her on January 20, 2005 after Bush's inauguration for a second term.

v t e Cabinet of President George W. Bush (2001–2009)
Vice President	Richard B. Cheney (2001–2009)
Secretary of State	Colin Powell (2001–2005) • Condoleezza Rice (2005–2009)
Secretary of the Treasury	Paul H. O'Neill (2001–2002) • John Snow (2002–2006) • Henry Paulson (2006–2009)
Secretary of Defense	Donald Rumsfeld (2001–2006) • Robert Gates (2006–2009)
Attorney General	John Ashcroft (2001–2005) • Alberto Gonzales (2005–2007) • Michael Mukasey (2007–2009)
Secretary of the Interior	Gale Norton (2001–2006) • Dirk Kempthorne (2006–2009)
Secretary of the Agriculture	Ann Veneman (2001–2005) • Mike Johanns (2005–2007) • Ed Schafer (2008–2009)
Secretary of Commerce	Donald Evans (2001–2005) • Carlos Gutierrez (2005–2009)
Secretary of Labor	Elaine Chao (2001–2009)
Secretary of Health and Human Services	Tommy Thompson (2001–2005) • Mike Leavitt (2005–2009)
Secretary of Education	Rod Paige (2001–2005) • Margaret Spellings (2005–2009)
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development	Mel Martínez (2001–2003) • Alphonso Jackson (2003–2008) • Steve Preston (2008–2009)
Secretary of Transportation	Norman Mineta (2001–2006) • Mary Peters (2006–2009)
Secretary of Energy	Spencer Abraham (2001–2005) • Samuel Bodman (2005–2009)
Secretary of Veterans Affairs	Anthony Principi (2001–2005) • Jim Nicholson (2005–2007) • James Peake (2007–2009)
Secretary of Homeland Security	Tom Ridge (2003–2005) • Michael Chertoff (2005–2009)
Chief of Staff	Andrew Card (2001–2006) • Joshua Bolten (2006–2009)
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency	Christine Todd Whitman (2001–2003) • Mike Leavitt (2003–2005) • Stephen Johnson (2005–2009)
Director of the Office of Management and Budget	Mitch Daniels (2001–2003) • Joshua Bolten (2003–2006) • Rob Portman (2006–2007) • Jim Nussle (2007–2009)
Director of National Drug Control Policy	John Walters (2001–2009)
Trade Representative	Robert Zoellick (2001–2005) • Rob Portman (2005–2006) • Susan Schwab (2006-2009)