Arne Duncan

Mayor Richard M. Daley named Arne Duncan Chief Executive Officer of the Chicago Public Schools in 2001. Mr. Duncan was previously Director of Magnet Schools and Programs and Deputy Chief of Staff.

Arne Duncan currently serves on the Boards of the Ariel Education Initiative, Chicago Cares, The Children’s Center, the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence, Jobs for America’s Graduates, the National Association of Basketball Coaches’ Foundation, Scholarship Chicago, South Side YMCA and the Harvard Board of Overseers, among others. He also serves on the Visiting Committee for the University of Chicago’s School of Social Service Administration. He was a fellow in the Leadership Greater Chicago’s class of 1995, and a member of the Aspen Institute’s Henry Crown Fellowship Program, Class of 2002. In May of 2003, he received an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Lake Forest College.

Arne Duncan graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1987, majoring in sociology. He was co-captain of Harvard’s basketball team and was named a first team Academic All-American. From 1987-1991, Mr. Duncan played professional basketball in Australia, where he also worked with children who were wards of the state.

Arne Duncan returned to Chicago in 1992 to direct the Ariel Education Initiative, which seeks to create outstanding educational opportunities for children on the city’s South Side. In 1998, he joined the Chicago Public Schools.