Richard Riley Joins Distinguished Group in S.C. Hall of Fame
February 12, 2010
GREENVILLE, SC – February 9, 2010 – The South Carolina Hall of Fame inducted former Governor and U.S. Education Secretary Richard Riley into membership Feb. 9.
It’s a special honor for me to be inducted into the S.C. Hall of Fame, said Secretary Riley, a Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough partner based in Greenville. I love this state a great deal, and I’ve had a real opportunity to serve the state in a lot of ways, a lot of important ways.
He said he is proud as a student of S.C. history to join people such as Robert Smalls, who also was inducted Feb. 9, in the Hall of Fame, located in Myrtle Beach.
A former U.S. Secretary of Education (1993-2001) and a former Governor of South Carolina (1979-87), Dick Riley, with full support of the Firm, remains an ambassador for improving education in the state, nation, and abroad.
Secretary Riley is a Distinguished Professor of Education at the University of South Carolina and a Distinguished Professor of Government, Politics, and Public Leadership at the Richard W. Riley Institute at Furman University. The College of Education at Winthrop University bears his name, as does the College of Education and Leadership at Walden University.
The Christian Science Monitor has said that many Americans regard Secretary Riley as one of the great statesmen of education in this (20th) century. During his tenure with the U.S. Department of Education, Secretary Riley helped launch historic initiatives to raise academic standards; improve instruction for the poor and disadvantaged; increase parental involvement in education; expand grants and loans to help more students attend college; and prepare young people in America for the world of work. As Governor of South Carolina, he initiated the Education Improvement Act, heralded to be the most comprehensive education reform measure in the United States.
More than 70 individuals have been inducted into the South Carolina Hall of Fame including Dizzy Gillespie, President Andrew Jackson, Pat Conroy and Strom Thurmond.
