Bond Street REIT Speaker Series // Lamar Alexander

About this event

In exploring the integrated relationship between culture and democracy, we are honored to welcome special guest Lamar Alexander to join Michael Reynolds for this season’s Bond Street REIT Series. As a long-serving U.S. Senator, Lamar leaves a legacy spanning politics, education leadership, and public service that has shaped both education policy, public spaces, and community programs. As the 5th U.S. Secretary of Education, he championed the “America 2000” initiative and later advanced federal legislation for the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015 and the 2018 Education Next+1, which expanded accountability to improve student outcomes. Lamar Alexander’s career in education leadership —through federal, state, and legislative roles—has had a lasting impact on American schools and public institutions, through infrastructure investment and public service priorities. Purchase Tickets HERE! About Lamar Alexander Lamar Alexander has long been known as one of America’s most principled and effective statesmen. As US Senator, Alexander shepherded major laws that today govern K–12 education, medical innovation, and maintenance of our national parks. Former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said, “For eighteen years, there was Lamar Alexander, and there was the rest of us. He was hands-down one of the most brilliant, most thoughtful, and most effective legislators any of us have ever seen.” As governor, Alexander brought the auto industry to Tennessee and made it the first state to pay teachers more for teaching well. He was chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, the nation’s governors, and of President Reagan’s “Commission on Americans Outdoors.” He served as US Education Secretary and as a university president. Alexander was also known for campaigning in a plaid shirt and performing on the piano with twenty-seven symphonies and on the Grand Ol’ Opry. He graduated from Vanderbilt University and New York University Law School. He and his late wife Honey…

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