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Nancy Golden was hired based on 30 years as a leader in Oregon education, becoming the state's second chief education officer.
(Bruce Ely/The Oregonian)
Veteran Oregon educator Nancy Golden was unanimously ushered into the state's top education job Friday by
and his overarching education board.
Golden is Oregon's second chief education officer, charged with remaking education from preschool through grad school to dramatically increase how many Oregonians become well-educated. She follows Rudy Crew, who spent only a year in the post and became better known for frequent travel than leaving a lasting impact.
The
, appointed and chaired by Kitzhaber, voted 11-0 to hire Golden after a search that went no further than her. Golden, 62, has been in the job on an
and chaired the education board whenever Kitzhaber was absent for a year before that.
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Golden, who will make $225,000 a year, becomes the point person for the state to pursue its goal of having all students complete high school and 80 percent earn college credentials by 2025. Currently, Oregon's high school graduation rate is one of the worst in the nation and dead last for white students. And only 61 percent of those who do get diplomas even try college.
Golden sounded undaunted Friday, saying she'll focus on figuring out where the barriers and rough spots are for students, and strategically use money and people to fix them.
"We've got to start fast and pump up the speed to make it happen," she said, adding that she'll give the job everything she has and has enjoyed the intensity of the work so far. "I feel like we've got to get it done for the students."
Golden spent the past decade as superintendent of
and was a
administrator before that. Board members, explaining her no-competition appointment, cited her 30-year track record of leadership and collaboration as an Oregon educator and as an adviser and stand-in for Kitzhaber on education reform in recent years.
"Nancy is our chief education officer," Kitzhaber said as he concluded Friday's brief special meeting where the vote was taken. "The work is in excellent hands."
She succeeds Crew, a former New York City and Miami schools chief who resigned the Oregon job to become
. In his last six months, he
for business not related to improving Oregon education and charged the state for some of the costs.
Kitzhaber's disapproval of that practice is reflected in Golden's contract, which makes clear that she must work full time to improve Oregon education. She also will get only as much vacation time as any other state employee in her category -- 11.3 hours a month, or about 3 1/2 weeks a year.
Golden will be expected to travel, including outside of Oregon, officials said. But she'll have to show that the travel is to improve Oregon education.
Springfield schools are not heralded for extraordinary results. But Golden was uniformly rated as meeting or exceeding the key expectations for a chief education officer -- from being a change agent to having knowledge of education at all levels -- by a large and diverse set of Oregonians interested in education, said Nike executive Julia Brim-Edwards, who spearheaded the search for both Crew and Golden.
Carol Wire, executive director of the
, was among education leaders who enthusiastically endorsed Golden for the job.
"Nancy has the temperament, wisdom, sensitivity and experience to lead school reform," she wrote to the hiring panel. "As a school district leader, Nancy knew how to support students while offering teachers and parents the voice they deserve. She understands how to implement change and how to communicate effectively with stakeholders.
"Nancy is highly-skilled in developing respectful relationships, which is the key to all positive change. Perhaps most importantly, she understands Oregon."
-- Betsy Hammond
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