The President’s Initiative for Expanding Education
Dr. Thomas E. Corts Biography
 |
| Dr. Thomas E. Corts |
Dr. Thomas Corts is Coordinator of Basic Education for all U.S. government assistance to the developing world, a role that encompasses The President’s Initiative to Expand Education. His appointment was announced by First Lady Laura Bush, in New York, in September 2007.
After retiring from a 23-year presidency of Samford University, consistently ranked among top institutions in the American South, Dr. Corts was Interim Chancellor of The Alabama College System (2006-07). He was President of North Carolina's Wingate University from 1974-1983.
Dr. Corts has been Chairman of the Commission on Colleges, and later President of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the accreditation agency for the 11 states of the South, from Virginia to Texas. He is past President of the American Association of Presidents of Independent Colleges and Universities, former Chairman of the President's Advisory Council of the Association of Governing Boards. He was a founding director of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. Dr. Corts has been honored with the National Council of Accreditation for Teacher Education's "Most Supportive President" Award. He was inducted into the Alabama Academy of Honor, the 100 most prominent Alabamians.
He is a past member of the President's Commission on White House Fellows and a former member of the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.
Born in Terre Haute, Indiana, Dr. Corts grew up in Ashtabula, Ohio. He is a graduate of Georgetown College (Kentucky), and of Indiana University (M.A., Ph.D.), and holds several honorary degrees. He and his wife of 44 years, Marla, have two married daughters, one son, and six grandchildren, all residents of Alabama.
Back to Top ^ | 
