THE EDUCATION OF RICHARD RILEY
A Case Study of Business Involvement in Education
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The historical memory, indeed, matters a great deal now especially when so many participants in contentious debates about accountability and credibility in public education inadvertently or deliberately forget the prima facie evidence of the reform movement’s formative years. Nearly 30 years after the fact, amid today’s emotionally charged political environment where reactionaries aim to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, elected officials from both sides of the aisle in the 1980s saw differently despite initial campaign pledges. President Ronald Reagan, whose party platform had recommended eliminating the cabinet-level education agency, strongly advocated for business-school partnerships. His immediate successor, George Herbert Walker Bush, carried the initiative further. One of my own mentors, Thomas Evans, was chief counsel to the Points of Life Foundation that was part of President Bush’s legacy. Riley also was good friends with the late Terrence Bell, the Secretary of Education during the Reagan Administration. In 1996, he delivered the eulogy at Bell’s funeral in Salt Lake City.
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About the Book
Prior to 1983, South Carolina’s public education system was ranked 49th out of the fifty states in terms of standardized testing, school funding, parental involvement and other measured criteria. With several corporations moving their corporate headquarters and manufacturing facilities into the state, South Carolina’s weak public school system came to the forefront as a major concern in the state’s efforts to draw in businesses. In 1983, South Carolina installed a Business Education Partnership program (BEP) to monitor its public school system to improve teacher quality, student testing and school funding. This book chronicles these efforts under the leadership of Richard Riley who was South Carolina’s governor at the time. During his reign from 1983 through 1989, Riley worked with the CEO’s of major companies, school superintendents, politicians and the community to promote the BEP program. Riley’s vibrant role was crucial in building and sustaining the success of the BEP and in highlighting public interest in school reform. Under Riley’s leadership, South Carolina’s public school system enjoyed significant improvement that has remained unmatched till this day. In this well-researched work, the success of the BEP program under Riley is documented as well as the program’s eventual downfall after Riley’s departure from office.
About the Author
Robert Archer is a graduate of Columbia University with a doctorate in educational administration. His teaching experience encompasses the university and public school levels where he has held positions as university administrator, assistant professor, guidance counselor, and public school teacher. In addition to his extensive career background, Dr. Archer’s passion for the field of education is prevalent in his community involvement with organizations focused on mentoring students regarding their individual goals and direction. In continuation of his strong commitment to academic excellence, Dr. Archer was the recipient of a William Fulbright Scholarship Award for 2012. Dr. Archer is also a founding member of the Silicon Valley United Nations Association of the USA, where a primary focus of his work involves the Global Classroom, an international education program that helps students around the world cultivate global literacy and life skills.