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William Bennett        

Radio Host, Bill Bennett's Morning In America; Former Secretary of Education

William J. Bennett is one of America’s most important, influential and respected voices on cultural, political, and education issues. A native of Brooklyn, New York, Bennett studied Philosophy and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree at Williams College, a Doctor of Philosophy degree at the University of Texas, and a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard. He is the Washington fellow of the Claremont Institute. He is a senior advisor to Project Lead The Way, one of the nation’s leading providers of training and curriculum to improve STEM education in American schools; he is on the advisory board of Udacity, Inc., Viridis Learning, Inc. and the board of directors of Vocefy, Inc. and Webtab, Inc.

Over the course of his professional life, in education, government and the private sector, Dr. Bennett has succeeded in a trifecta of American institutions. He is an award-winning professor in academia, having taught at Boston University, the University of Texas and Harvard; he is a three-time confirmed executive in the Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations including holding two cabinet-level positions, Secretary of Education under Ronald Reagan and the Nation’s first Drug Czar under the first President Bush; he is the author of more than 24 books, including two New York Times number one best sellers and two of the most successful books of the 1990s; and he is the host of the number seven ranked nationally syndicated radio show, Morning in America.

In his various roles, Dr. Bennett is perceived—even by his adversaries—as a man of strong, reasoned convictions who speaks candidly, eloquently and honestly about some of the most important issues of our time.

Dr. Bennett’s latest book is entitled, Is College Worth It? His three volume set of the history of the United States entitled America: The Last Best Hope, has been widely praised. The volumes have been adopted for school use in the State of Indiana and the City of New York, and are currently being adopted by other school systems around the country and digitalized for distribution. As a communicator, Dr. Bennett has received rare acclaim. In 2002 he was named by focus groups and leading analysts the “Best Communicator of 2002,” and the most well-received public commentator on the issues of “pride, patriotism, faith, and moral conviction.” In April of 2005, the Sunday New York Times named Dr. Bennett the “leading spokesman of the Traditional Values wing of the Republican Party.” Although he is a well-known Republican, Dr. Bennett often has crossed party lines in order to pursue important common purposes. He has worked closely with Democratic leaders such as Senator Joseph Lieberman to fight the decline of popular culture and to end worldwide religious persecution.

Thanks to his government positions, his writings and speeches, and thousands of media appearances, Bennett has extraordinary influence on America’s political and social landscape. In many surveys and publications he has been named one of the most influential individuals in America. He is the recipient of more than 30 honorary degrees.

Dr. Bennett and his wife, Elayne, reside in North Carolina and are the parents of two sons.

Speech Topics


Education Today: Tough Problems, Tougher Solutions

America is in dire need of improving its educational system but more inputs—from money to personnel—is not the solution. The Secretary of Education who garnered both controversy and admiration for his fiercely passionate views on educating—and not failing—the nation’s children, Bill Bennett delivers bold solutions for closing the achievement gap through testing, tough standards, better books, and better teachers (and more rewards for those teachers). With an eye toward the future, Bennett shares what America must do to stay competitive with the systems in Europe and Asia including innovating in areas such as online education, charter schools and cutting the educational bureaucracy so that states and localities have the resources they need to increase educational performance and secure America’s economic future.

The Promise of America in Challenging Times

Economic, political and social headlines have undermined the foundations of America’s faith in its future. At the center of American life for the last four decades, first as a Cabinet official in the administrations of Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush and as one of the country’s most respected political analysts, Bill Bennett reminds us that we have triumphed through hardship before—and have become a stronger nation because of it. In this uplifting discussion that dispels the notion that America’s best days are behind us, the patriotic Bennett inspires citizens to get involved in the national discourse and boldly confront the complex issues that lie before us. Bennett shows, that even through the most trying of times, America remains the world’s last best hope whose achievements remain high and remarkable.

Mornings in America: A Look at the Political Landscape

In today’s political culture Democrats and Republicans divide on practically everything from the war in Afghanistan to gay marriage to health care to Supreme Court nominations. Is the intensity and animosity of today’s political climate unprecedented or exaggerated? Or is this just business-as-usual Washington politics? And how has an intense political climate impacted the Obama Administration’s agenda and its working relationship with Congress? A well-known Republican who has crossed party lines throughout his political career to pursue important common purposes, Bill Bennett has the pulse of the American electorate as the host the popular, nationally-syndicated radio program Bill Bennett’s Mornings in America. In this timely presentation, Bennett gets to the truths behind the current political prevailing sentiments and engages in a lively conversation on the issues moving the American electorate.

News


Drescher: Bill Bennett, former U.S. education secretary, still critical of ...
In a new book, former Triangle resident Bill Bennett says two-thirds of high school graduates who go to a four-year college should do something else.

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