Posted on Thursday, June 22, 2023
Retirement is not slowing Roderick (Rod) R. Paige, Ed.D., former U.S. Secretary of Education, in continuing his vision and mission to affect change in addressing many of the challenges presently faced by teachers and administrator in urban school settings.
Dr. Paige’s wife, Texas Southern University Regent Stephanie Nellons-Paige, hosted the surprise birthday celebration and appeal event along with a brunch on June 17 to raise funding for an endowment scholarship for students majoring in education at TSU. In lieu of gifts, guests were asked to contribute to the Dr. Roderick Paige Scholarship Fund at TSU. The scholarships will support students majoring in the College of Education who are in need of financial assistance.
The mission of the endowed scholarship is to help establish a pipeline for supplying urban school districts with qualified teachers who are able to navigate the unique conditions that often present major, ongoing challenges. “The goal was to initially raise $90 thousand to honor his 90th birthday,” said Regent Nellons-Paige. “However, through the support and generosity of our friends and family, we surpassed the goal by more than $10 thousand.
“The event was a clear example of my husband’s ability to bring folks together from across the spectrum,” Regent Nellons-Paige continued. “Typically, Houston is a city divided, but my husband has the distinctive capacity to bring people of varying perspectives together to support a cause. He is a uniter as evidenced by the number and diverse guests that attended and contributed at the event.”
During his career, Dr. Paige served as the seventh United States Secretary of Education from 2001 to 2005. He had moved from being a college football coach and classroom teacher to college dean and school superintendent to becoming the first African American to serve as U.S. chief education.
Dr. Paige relocated to Houston in the 1970s. He taught at TSU from 1980 to 1984 and became dean of the College of Education in 1984, where he served until 1994. During this period, he was instrumental in forming the university’s Center for Excellence in Urban Education, a research facility that concentrates on issues related to instruction and management in urban school systems.
A native of Monticello, Miss., Dr. Paige is the product of public school educators. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Jackson State University and received both master’s and Doctor of Education degrees in physical education from Indiana University Bloomington.
Category: Students, Faculty & Staff, Alumni, News Media