KENT MCGUIRE, Ph.D. is President of the Southern Education Foundation (SEF) where he is responsible for SEF’s mission to advance equity and excellence in education in the American South, especially for African Americans. Prior to joining SEF, Dr. McGuire served as the Dean of the College of Education at Temple University where he also was a tenured professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. Dr. McGuire served in the Clinton Administration as Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education. His prior non- profit work included Education Program Officer for the Philadelphia- based Pew Charitable Trusts and serving as Education Program Director for the Eli Lilly Endowment. Dr. McGuire has written and coauthored various policy reports, book chapters and papers in professional journals. He currently serves on many boards including: Moorestown Public Schools, Institute for Education Leadership, The New Teacher Project, Board of Managers of Girard College, Wachovia Regional Foundation and The Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation.
Dr. McGuire earned his bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Michigan, his master’s degree in education administration and policy from Columbia University Teacher’s College, and his Ph.D. in public administration from the University of Colorado at Boulder.