Joel Klein

Joel Klein
Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education
In office
August 19, 2002 – January 1, 2011
Appointed byMichael Bloomberg
Preceded byHarold Levy
Succeeded byCathie Black
United States Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division
In office
1996–2000
PresidentBill Clinton
Preceded byAnne Bingaman
Succeeded byDouglas Melamed
Deputy White House Counsel
In office
July 1993 – March 1995
PresidentBill Clinton
Preceded byVince Foster
Succeeded byJames Castello
Personal details
Born (1946-10-25) October 25, 1946 (age 78)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseNicole Seligman
EducationColumbia University (BA)
Harvard University (JD)

Joel Irwin Klein (born October 25, 1946) is an American lawyer and school superintendent. He was the Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education, the largest public school system in the United States, serving more than 1.1 million students in more than 1,600 schools. He was succeeded by Cathie Black in January 2011.

New York magazine ranked Klein as one of the most influential people in public education.[1] Klein had never obtained the common formal credentials that one would have to take a leadership role in a public school system, and Klein had a short duration of teaching experience.[2]

  1. ^ "The Influentials: Education." New York magazine. Retrieved on July 10, 2013.
  2. ^ Merrow, John. "Love or loathe him, Joel Klein is the person most responsible for shaping U.S. schools today." New York Daily News. Sunday June 5, 2011. Retrieved on July 10, 2013. "But the evidence suggests that our most influential educator is a lawyer who only very briefly taught in public school and never had the formal credentials to lead a public school system."