Arne Duncan

Former U.S. Secretary of Education

Arne Duncan served as secretary of education for the last seven years, from 2009 to the end of 2015. His twin career passions are education and basketball. At Harvard University, Duncan was co-captain of the basketball team and a first team Academic All-American. From there, he went on to play professional basketball from 1987 to 1991 in Australia, where he also tutored children who were wards of the state. In subsequent years, he has been the MVP of the 2014 NBA Celebrity All-Star Basketball game and a member of the 3-on-3 national champions Hoop it Up team.

Prior to his appointment as secretary of education, Duncan served as the chief executive officer of the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) for eight years. Before taking the CEO helm at CPS, Duncan ran the nonprofit education foundation Ariel Education Initiative from 1992 to 1998, which helped fund a college education for a class of inner-city children under the “I Have A Dream” program.

Duncan is a managing partner of the Emerson Collective and is a nonresident senior fellow in the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution.

CLICK HERE for a USA Today storying that previewed Duncan’s first meeting as Commission co-chair and recounted his work on college sports reform as U.S. Secretary of Education.