Dave Larsen writes about higher education.
Kelly Mori writes about health and higher education.Home > Blogs > On Campus > Archives > 2008 > November > 06
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Obama administration has unprecedented ties to higher education
When President-elect Barack Obama takes the oath of office on Jan. 20, 2009, alongside his running mate, Joe Biden, it will mark the first time in history that a president, vice president and both of their spouses have worked in higher education.
Together, the Obamas and the Bidens have amassed decades of experience at colleges and universities, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.
Obama taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992-2004, when he took office in the U.S. Senate. His wife, Michelle, worked in administration at the same university. She currently is on leave from her job as vice president for community and external affairs at the University of Chicago Hospitals.
For the past 17 years, Biden has taught as an adjunct professor at the Widener University School of Law. His wife, Jill, is an English instructor at Delaware Technical and Community College’s Stanton-Wilmington campus.
Obama campaigned on a platform that called for increased aid to students, a doubling of federal funds for basic research, and government grants to “successful community colleges” that train unemployed workers in emerging industries, the Chronicle noted.
