Ronald Reagan: Nomination of Terrel H. Bell To Be Secretary of Education

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Nomination of Terrel H. Bell To Be Secretary of Education
January 20, 1981

Ronald Reagan
1981

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The President today nominated Terrel H. Bell, of Salt Lake City, Utah, to be Secretary of Education.

Mr. Bell is Utah Commissioner of Higher Education and chief executive officer of the Utah State Board of Regents.

Mr. Bell received his B.A. in 1946 from the Southern Idaho College of Education, and in 1954 he received his M.S. in educational administration from the University of Idaho. In 1961 he received his doctorate in educational administration from the University of Utah.

He served in the United States Marines from 1942 to 1946, and from 1946 to 1947, he was athletic coach and science teacher at Eden Rural High School in Eden, Idaho. From 1947 to 1954, he served as superintendent of the Rockland Valley (Idaho) School, and from 1954 to 1955, he had a Ford Foundation fellowship in school administration. From 1955 to 1957, he served as superintendent of Star Valley Schools in Afton, Wyo., and from 1957 to 1962, he seved as superintendent of the Weber County School District in Ogden, Utah. He served as professor and chairman of the department of educational administration at Utah State University from 1962 to 1963 and served as Utah State Superintendent of Public Instruction from 1963 to 1970. He served as Deputy Commissioner for School Systems with the U.S. Office of Education from 1970 to 1971 and from 1971 to 1974 served as superintendent of the Granite School District in Salt Lake City. From June of 1974 to July of 1976, he served as United States Commissioner of Education, a position to which he was appointed by the President of the United States.

Mr. Bell is the author of 6 books as well as 27 articles, and 3 of his major addresses have been published in "Vital Speeches of the Nation." He has received numerous awards including the Secretary's Special Citation from Caspar Weinberger (1975), a Certificate of Merit of State Boards of Education from Edinboro (Pa.) State College (1975), the Distinguished Service Award from the National Association of State Boards of Education (1973), the Distinguished Service Award from the National Council of Chief State School Officers (1971), and the Outstanding Service Award from the Utah School Boards Association (1970).

Mr. Bell is 59 years old. He is married and has four sons.

Citation: John T. Woolley and Gerhard Peters, The American Presidency Project [online]. Santa Barbara, CA. Available from World Wide Web: http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=43445.

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