Keynote Speaker-Arne Duncan

Arne Duncan is United States Secretary of Education. Arne Duncan was nominated to be secretary of education by President Barack Obama and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Jan. 20, 2009. In his confirmation hearings, Duncan expressed his commitment to work with all those involved in education "to enhance education in America, to lift our children and families out of poverty, to help our students learn to contribute to the civility of our great American democracy, and to strengthen our economy by producing a workforce that can make us as competitive as possible." Prior to his appointment as secretary of education, Duncan served as the chief executive officer of the Chicago Public Schools, a position to which he was appointed by Mayor Richard M. Daley, from June 2001 through December 2008, becoming the longest-serving big-city education superintendent in the country.