U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige today announced that Laurie M. Rich has been formally sworn in as assistant secretary for intergovernmental and interagency affairs.

Since 1995 Rich has been the executive director of the Texas Office of State-Federal Relations in Washington, D.C. Previously she was a special assistant and senior legislative assistant for outreach in the office of U.S. Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas. She also served as acting administrative assistant to U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson, R-Texas.

A former secondary school teacher, Rich received a bachelor's degree from North Texas State University in Denton. She also studied history and public administration in the master's program at North Texas State University in Dallas.

Rich was nominated by President Bush on June 13 and confirmed by the Senate on July 19.

"In implementing President Bush's No Child Left Behind education reform plan we will actively seek and build partnerships with state and local agencies and public and private organizations," Paige said. "Laurie Rich will lead our efforts to build those partnerships, and I look forward to working with her as we move ahead with our plans for America's students."

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