Bush Nominates Sara Martinez Tucker
To Department of Education’s No. 3 Post
President George W. Bush has nominated outgoing Hispanic Scholarship Fund President and CEO Sara Martinez Tucker to be the new Under Secretary of Education, the U.S. Department of Education’s third-highest post. Tucker most recently served on U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spelling’s Commission on the Future of Higher Education.
Tucker stepped down from her post at the HSF when Bush announced her nomination. Her name was formally submitted to the U.S. Senate for confirmation in September. Tucker would replace acting Under Secretary David Dunn, and, if confirmed, would oversee policies, programs and activities related to vocational and adult education, postsecondary education, college aid and Bush’s Pell Grant financial reforms.
In a statement, Dr. Roger Benjamin, chairman of HSF’s board of directors, lauded Tucker’s work at the HSF. “We will greatly miss Sara — words can’t describe how much she’s advanced the organization over the past decade,” he said.
Tucker was named president and CEO of HSF in 1997. At that time, the organization awarded approximately $3.5 million in scholarships annually to Hispanic students. Today, HSF provides more than $25 million in scholarships. In 2005, Time magazine named Tucker one of the 25 most influential Hispanics in America. She was also a trailblazing 16-year veteran at AT&T, having been the first Latina to rise to the telecommunication giant’s executive ranks, becoming regional vice president for AT&T’s Global Business Communications Systems.
— By David Pluviose
© Copyright 2005 by DiverseEducation.com
