As part of their celebration for the new Jandon Center for Community Engagement, former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan was invited to speak at Smith College as part of their Presidential Colloquium Series. The talk provided an overview of the lessons the longtime policy leader has learned throughout his career in education.
Denys Candy, director of the Jandon Center, said he was delighted to be able to highlight the Jandon Center dedication with a talk by Arne Duncan.
“A key component of the vision for the Cecil family’s gift naming the Jandon Center was an annual lecture series that would prompt conversation about critical issues in education, especially urban education,” said Candy. “To inaugurate this series with a presentation by Arne Duncan—one of the nation’s leading educational policy makers—is a great opportunity for our community. I’m eager to see the conversation that his lecture sparks.”
In 2009, Duncan was appointed as U.S. Secretary of Education by President Barack Obama after serving eight years as superintendent of the Chicago Public Schools. Graduating from Harvard College in 1987, his senior thesis was founded on a year’s leave of research in the Kenwood neighborhood, entitled “The values, aspirations and opportunities of the urban underclass.”
This talk was recorded on September 21st in the Weinstein Auditorium at Smith College.
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