U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige today announced that Susan B. Neuman has been formally sworn in as assistant secretary for elementary and secondary education.

Before joining the Education Department, Neuman was a professor at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and director of the Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement. For 10 years prior to joining the Michigan faculty, Neuman was a professor at Temple University in Philadelphia. She has also taught at Boston College, the University of Massachusetts and Yale University. Early in her career Neuman was an elementary school teacher and a reading specialist. She is a board member of the International Reading Association and has published widely, especially regarding literacy.

A graduate of American University, she received a master's degree from California State University - Hayward and a doctorate from the University of the Pacific in Stockton, Calif.

President Bush formally nominated Neuman on April 30. The Senate confirmed the nomination on July 12.

"Susan Neuman will be working with states and communities on making President Bush's No Child Left Behind education reform plan a reality," Paige said, "and Susan will also be on the front lines in helping to advance President Bush's initiative to teach every child to read by the end of third grade. I am delighted she is joining us to help in this important work."