Opening the cabinet

Bush nominees are IU connected

By Rose McIlveen and Jayne Spencer

Paige

If approved, the two will serve as U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and U.S. Secretary of Education, respectively.

O’Neill, who received a master of public administration degree in 1966, was on leave from the Veterans Administration at that time, according to Lynton Caldwell, an IU emeritus professor of political science, and public and environmental affairs. O’Neill arrived in Bloomington to take part in a program for mid-career public officials in the interactions of science, technology and public affairs directed by Caldwell and sponsored by the National Institute of Public Affairs.

“O’Neill came to IU in the Education for Public Management Program. He was one of a number of promising young administrators selected for the program,” said Caldwell. “He wanted to stay to get a doctorate here, but there was a time limit, and he had to return to the VA.”

Caldwell said that later O’Neill was transferred to the U.S. Office of Budget and Management, a key agency. “He comes from the corporate sector, but he’s had a history of government service,” added Caldwell.

An evaluation completed by Caldwell in 1966 regarding O’Neill’s studies at IU were prescient: “There is no question among faculty here regarding (O’Neill’s) ability to pursue advanced work with complete success.”

Roderick R. Paige received a master’s degree in physical education in 1962 and a doctoral degree in physical education in 1970. John Cooper, an emeritus professor of physical education, remembers him well.

“Roderick Paige was an excellent student and wanted to be even better,” said Cooper, a legend in his own right for inventing the jump shot during his days as a University of Missouri Tiger’s basketball player in the 1930s. “He frequently came into my office to talk with me. We talked about everything from apples to oranges.” Paige was particularly interested in both the mechanics of movement, known today as kinesiology, and the mechanics of administration.

Paige currently administers the seventh largest public school district in the country, with more than 210,000 students enrolled. One of the largest employers in Houston, the district has 283 campuses and employs nearly 30,000 full and part-time employees.

Paige co-authored a plan that called for school reform decentralization, with emphasis on instruction, accountability and development of a core curriculum. In September, he was appointed to a new commission on the high school senior year by Richard Riley, U.S. Secretary of Education. Prior to Paige’s appointment to the Houston schools, he was dean of the College of Education at Texas Southern University where he established the university’s Center for Excellence in Urban Education.