Chester E. Finn, Jr: A Self-Identified Troublemaker

For more than five decades, Chester E. Finn, Jr has been in the forefront of the national debate about school reform. Working in many roles, including high school teacher, an education professor, a writer, a think-tank analyst, a government employee, a nonprofit foundation president, Finn has been both a Democrat and a Republican, and has worked for policy leaders on both sides of the aisle. He has been influential on many issues, including standards-based reform, quality assessment, and choice. Finn served as the Fordham Foundation’s president from 1997 to 2014, after many earlier roles in education, academe, and government. From 1999 until 2002, he was a fellow at the Manhattan Institute and previously at Hudson Institute. In 1992–1994, he served as founding partner with the Edison Project. He was professor of education and public policy at Vanderbilt University from 1981 until 2002. From 1985 to 1988, he served as Assistant Secretary for Research and Improvement and Counselor to the Secretary at the U.S. Department of Education under President Reagan. Earlier positions include staff assistant to President Nixon; special assistant to the Governor of Massachusetts; counsel to the U.S. Ambassador to India; research associate at the Brookings Institution; and legislative director for Senator Daniel P. Moynihan. Semi-retired, Finn still serves as a Distinguished Senior Fellow and President Emeritus at the Fordham Foundation, and a Senior Fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institution. He has authored or coauthored over 20 books, and many hundreds of articles, opinion pieces, and blogs. Dr. Finn holds an undergraduate degree in U.S. history, a master’s degree in social studies teaching, and a doctorate in education policy, all from Harvard University.