Cathie Black
Encyclopedia
Cathleen Prunty "Cathie" Black (born April 26, 1944) is a former New York City Schools Chancellor. On April 7, 2011, Black stepped down from her position after 95 days on the job. Her appointment to replace longtime Chancellor Joel Klein
was announced on November 9, 2010 by Mayor Michael Bloomberg
and became effective on January 3, 2011. Ms. Black required a waiver to replace Klein, as she did not possess the education administration experience required by New York State's Education Department. She was replaced by New York City Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott
.
Black was previously chairman of Hearst Magazines, a division of Hearst Corporation
, where she was also president for 15 years. Hearst Magazines publishes 20 titles in the U.S., including Harper's Bazaar
, Cosmopolitan
, Esquire
, ELLE
and O, The Oprah Magazine
, and more than 300 editions around the world. She is also the author of BASIC BLACK and is a former president and publisher of USA Today
.
(class of 1966) in Washington, DC, and 10 honorary degrees from:
St. Mary's College
, South Bend, Ind.;
Capitol College
, Laurel, Md.;
Ithaca College
, Ithaca, N.Y.;
Lehigh University
, Bethlehem, Pa.;
Simmons College
, Boston, Mass.;
Trinity Washington University
, Washington, D.C.;
Trinity College, Hartford, Conn.;
Marymount College
, Tarrytown, N.Y.;
Loyola University
, New Orleans, La. and
Hamilton College in Clinton, NY
.
, went on to work at New York Magazine, City magazine, Ms. Magazine
and eventually return to New York Magazine as publisher, the first woman publisher of a weekly consumer magazine.
She later worked for USA Today
starting in 1983, the year after it was launched. She served as both president and publisher of USA Today, spending eight years at the newspaper. Black was also a board member and executive vice president/marketing of Gannett, its parent company.
As President and CEO of the Newspaper Association of America
from 1991 to 1996, Black, along with newspaper industry leaders on the NAA Board, conceived of the idea of a national newspaper network to stimulate demand from major national advertisers. Black oversaw Newspaper National Network’s founding, raised funding, and hired the first management team.
Black became president of Hearst Magazines in 1996. She was president of Hearst Magazines until 2010, when she became chairman. During her tenure at Hearst Magazines, the company expanded to publish 200 editions around the globe, launched O, The Oprah Magazine
and Food Network Magazine
, formed COMAG MARKETING GROUP (CMG) with Condé Nast
and acquired the assets of Gruner+Jahr U.K., Seventeen
, Veranda magazine and iCrossing, a digital marketing agency.
She has been a member of the board of directors
of IBM
and The Coca-Cola Company
, Hearst Corporation
, Advertising Council, United Way of America and Gannett Co. Inc. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations
She is also on the National Leadership Board of Harlem Village Academies and a Trustee of the University of Notre Dame.
In Black's nearly 20 years on the Coke board and on "a company committee that focused on policy issues including obesity and selling soda to children," Bloomberg and others opposed the company and other manufacturers' sales efforts in schools. Black resigned her position on the Coke board after the NYC nomination, citing potential conflicts of interest. She was paid over $2 million in cash and stock over her tenure on the board, and still owns over $3 million worth of company stock. The mayor reiterated both the school policy against soda sales and his support for Black when the subject was raised after the nomination. Donald McHenry
, "a longtime Coke board member and a professor at Georgetown University
who sat on the committee" with Black, confirmed that the issue had faced the board continuously but did not address Black's position or individual role in the internal company debates, decisions and actions.
, the largest public school system
in the United States, which serves more than 1.1 million students in more than 1,600 schools. She resigned, after much controversy, on April 7, 2011.
under Education Commissioner
David M. Steiner. The waiver was granted by Steiner, with Black's shortfall in formal qualifications "offset by the appointment of a chief academic officer to serve by her side [as well as her] 'exceptional record of successfully leading complex organizations and achievement of excellence in her endeavors.'" Black appointed Shael Polakow-Suransky
to the academic-officer role, and assumed her post January 1, 2011. Steiner announced his own resignation the very same afternoon, but did not disclose any reason. Before her appointment was approved, Bloomberg's office announced supporters of his choice included former Mayors Rudy Giuliani
and Ed Koch
, State Senator Malcolm Smith, City Council Majority Leader Joel Rivera
. Oprah Winfrey has also publicly supported Black as the chancellor.
After taking office, Black upset parents on January 14, 2011, when responding to a question from a parent about overcrowded classrooms in New York City by jokingly suggesting that the solution to future overcrowding may be birth control
. Black also said at the same meeting that making decisions about satisfying classroom space concerns is like making "many Sophie's Choice
s" – a reference to a novel in which a mother is forced to choose which of her children is killed at Auschwitz concentration camp
. A spokesman for the Department of Education later said Black cares about overcrowding, and "regrets if she left a different impression by making an off-handed joke in the course of that conversation."
As Schools Chancellor, Black presided over meetings on February 1 and February 3, 2011, to close 22 schools that the City classified as failing. Towards the end of the meeting on February 1, Black spoke to the crowd of parents. At that meeting Black told the crowd "I can't speak if you're shouting," and after the crowd continued to boo Black, she responded by imitating the crowd's jeers in a "mocking" fashion. As a result, at the following meeting on February 3, Black was booed by parents and criticized by members of the New York City Council
.
Joel Klein
Joel Irwin Klein was Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education, the largest public school system in the United States, serving more than 1.1 million students in more than 1,600 schools...
was announced on November 9, 2010 by Mayor Michael Bloomberg
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg is the current Mayor of New York City. With a net worth of $19.5 billion in 2011, he is also the 12th-richest person in the United States...
and became effective on January 3, 2011. Ms. Black required a waiver to replace Klein, as she did not possess the education administration experience required by New York State's Education Department. She was replaced by New York City Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott
Dennis Walcott
Dennis Walcott is the Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education. He succeeded Cathie Black, who resigned in April 2011 after only three months on the job....
.
Black was previously chairman of Hearst Magazines, a division of Hearst Corporation
Hearst Corporation
The Hearst Corporation is an American media conglomerate based in the Hearst Tower, Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. Founded by William Randolph Hearst as an owner of newspapers, the company's holdings now include a wide variety of media...
, where she was also president for 15 years. Hearst Magazines publishes 20 titles in the U.S., including Harper's Bazaar
Harper's Bazaar
Harper’s Bazaar is an American fashion magazine, first published in 1867. Harper’s Bazaar is published by Hearst and, as a magazine, considers itself to be the style resource for “women who are the first to buy the best, from casual to couture.”...
, Cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan (magazine)
Cosmopolitan is an international magazine for women. It was first published in 1886 in the United States as a family magazine, was later transformed into a literary magazine and eventually became a women's magazine in the late 1960s...
, Esquire
Esquire (magazine)
Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...
, ELLE
Elle (magazine)
Elle is a worldwide magazine of French origin that focuses on women's fashion, beauty, health, and entertainment. Elle is also the world's largest fashion magazine. It was founded by Pierre Lazareff and his wife Hélène Gordon in 1945. The title, in French, means "she".-History:Elle was founded in...
and O, The Oprah Magazine
O, The Oprah Magazine
O: The Oprah Magazine, sometimes simply abbreviated to O, is a monthly magazine founded by Oprah Winfrey and Hearst Corporation.-Overview:...
, and more than 300 editions around the world. She is also the author of BASIC BLACK and is a former president and publisher of USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
.
Early life and education
Black was born in Chicago, Illinois on April 26, 1944, to James Hamilton and Margaret (née Harrington) Black. She holds a degree from Trinity CollegeTrinity Washington University
Trinity Washington University, founded in 1897 by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, is a Roman Catholic university located in Washington, D.C. across from Catholic University of America and the Dominican House of Studies...
(class of 1966) in Washington, DC, and 10 honorary degrees from:
St. Mary's College
Saint Mary's College (Indiana)
Saint Mary's College is a private Catholic liberal arts college founded in 1844 by the Sisters of the Holy Cross. It is located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community northeast of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States — as are the University of Notre Dame and Holy...
, South Bend, Ind.;
Capitol College
Capitol College
Capitol College is a private, non-profit, and non-sectarian college located just south of Laurel, Maryland, in unincorporated Prince George's County. It was founded in 1927 as the Capitol Radio Engineering Institute, changed its name to the Capitol Institute of Technology in 1964, and assumed its...
, Laurel, Md.;
Ithaca College
Ithaca College
Ithaca College is a private college located on the South Hill of Ithaca, New York. The school was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music. The college has a strong liberal arts core, but also offers several pre-professional programs and some graduate programs. The college is...
, Ithaca, N.Y.;
Lehigh University
Lehigh University
Lehigh University is a private, co-educational university located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the United States. It was established in 1865 by Asa Packer as a four-year technical school, but has grown to include studies in a wide variety of disciplines...
, Bethlehem, Pa.;
Simmons College
Simmons College (Massachusetts)
Simmons College, established in 1899, is a private women's undergraduate college and private co-educational graduate school in Boston, Massachusetts.-History:Simmons was founded in 1899 with a bequest by John Simmons a wealthy clothing manufacturer in Boston...
, Boston, Mass.;
Trinity Washington University
Trinity Washington University
Trinity Washington University, founded in 1897 by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, is a Roman Catholic university located in Washington, D.C. across from Catholic University of America and the Dominican House of Studies...
, Washington, D.C.;
Trinity College, Hartford, Conn.;
Marymount College
Marymount College, Tarrytown
Marymount College of Fordham University was a women's college in the United States, eventually to become part of Fordham University. The Marymount campus was located in Tarrytown, New York. Enrollment peaked at 1,112 in 1978, but by 2004 it enrolled 844 students...
, Tarrytown, N.Y.;
Loyola University
Loyola University New Orleans
Loyola University New Orleans is a private, co-educational and Jesuit university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Originally established as Loyola College in 1904, the institution was chartered as a university in 1912. It bears the name of the Jesuit patron, Saint Ignatius of Loyola...
, New Orleans, La. and
Hamilton College in Clinton, NY
Clinton, Oneida County, New York
Clinton is a village in Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 1,952 at the 2000 census. It was named for George Clinton, a royal governor of the colony of New York....
.
Business career
Black began her career at Holiday MagazineHoliday (magazine)
Holiday was an American travel magazine published from 1946 to 1977. Originally published by the Curtis Publishing Company, Holidays circulation grew to over one million subscribers at its height....
, went on to work at New York Magazine, City magazine, Ms. Magazine
Ms. magazine
Ms. is an American feminist magazine co-founded by American feminist and activist Gloria Steinem and founding editor Letty Cottin Pogrebin together with founding editors Patricia Carbine, Joanne Edgar, Nina Finkelstein, and Mary Peacock, that first appeared in 1971 as an insert in New York magazine...
and eventually return to New York Magazine as publisher, the first woman publisher of a weekly consumer magazine.
She later worked for USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
starting in 1983, the year after it was launched. She served as both president and publisher of USA Today, spending eight years at the newspaper. Black was also a board member and executive vice president/marketing of Gannett, its parent company.
As President and CEO of the Newspaper Association of America
Newspaper Association of America
The Newspaper Association of America is a trade association representing approximately 2000 newspapers in the United States and Canada. Member newspapers represented by the NAA include large daily papers, non-daily and small-market publications, as well as digital and multiplatform...
from 1991 to 1996, Black, along with newspaper industry leaders on the NAA Board, conceived of the idea of a national newspaper network to stimulate demand from major national advertisers. Black oversaw Newspaper National Network’s founding, raised funding, and hired the first management team.
Black became president of Hearst Magazines in 1996. She was president of Hearst Magazines until 2010, when she became chairman. During her tenure at Hearst Magazines, the company expanded to publish 200 editions around the globe, launched O, The Oprah Magazine
O, The Oprah Magazine
O: The Oprah Magazine, sometimes simply abbreviated to O, is a monthly magazine founded by Oprah Winfrey and Hearst Corporation.-Overview:...
and Food Network Magazine
Food Network Magazine
Food Network Magazine is a monthly food entertainment magazine founded by Hearst Corporation and Scripps Networks Interactive based on the latter's popular television network Food Network. The magazine debuted in 2008, originally as two newsstand-only test issues to be followed by the first...
, formed COMAG MARKETING GROUP (CMG) with Condé Nast
Condé Nast Publications
Condé Nast, a division of Advance Publications, is a magazine publisher. In the U.S., it produces 18 consumer magazines, including Architectural Digest, Bon Appétit, GQ, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, and Vogue, as well as four business-to-business publications, 27 websites, and more than 50 apps...
and acquired the assets of Gruner+Jahr U.K., Seventeen
Seventeen (magazine)
Seventeen is an American magazine for teenagers. It was first published in September 1944 by Walter Annenberg's Triangle Publications. News Corporation bought Triangle in 1988, and sold Seventeen to K-III Communications in 1991. Primedia sold the magazine to Hearst in 2003. It is still in the...
, Veranda magazine and iCrossing, a digital marketing agency.
She has been a member of the board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
of IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
and The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation and manufacturer, retailer and marketer of non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups. The company is best known for its flagship product Coca-Cola, invented in 1886 by pharmacist John Stith Pemberton in Columbus, Georgia...
, Hearst Corporation
Hearst Corporation
The Hearst Corporation is an American media conglomerate based in the Hearst Tower, Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. Founded by William Randolph Hearst as an owner of newspapers, the company's holdings now include a wide variety of media...
, Advertising Council, United Way of America and Gannett Co. Inc. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations is an American nonprofit nonpartisan membership organization, publisher, and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs...
She is also on the National Leadership Board of Harlem Village Academies and a Trustee of the University of Notre Dame.
In Black's nearly 20 years on the Coke board and on "a company committee that focused on policy issues including obesity and selling soda to children," Bloomberg and others opposed the company and other manufacturers' sales efforts in schools. Black resigned her position on the Coke board after the NYC nomination, citing potential conflicts of interest. She was paid over $2 million in cash and stock over her tenure on the board, and still owns over $3 million worth of company stock. The mayor reiterated both the school policy against soda sales and his support for Black when the subject was raised after the nomination. Donald McHenry
Donald McHenry
Donald Franchot McHenry is a former American diplomat. He was the United States Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations from September 1979 until January 20, 1981.-Biography:...
, "a longtime Coke board member and a professor at Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
who sat on the committee" with Black, confirmed that the issue had faced the board continuously but did not address Black's position or individual role in the internal company debates, decisions and actions.
Schools chancellor
As chancellor, Black was head of the New York City Department of EducationNew York City Department of Education
The New York City Department of Education is the branch of municipal government in New York City that manages the city's public school system. It is the largest school system in the United States, with over 1.1 million students taught in more than 1,700 separate schools...
, the largest public school system
School district
School districts are a form of special-purpose district which serves to operate the local public primary and secondary schools.-United States:...
in the United States, which serves more than 1.1 million students in more than 1,600 schools. She resigned, after much controversy, on April 7, 2011.
Controversy
Having neither three years of teaching experience nor a master's degree nor a professional degree in educational management, Black required a waiver from the New York State Education DepartmentNew York State Education Department
The New York State Education Department is the state education department in New York. It is part of the University of the State of New York , one of the most complete, interconnected systems of educational services in the United States...
under Education Commissioner
Commissioner of Education of the State of New York
The Commissioner of Education of the State of New York is the head of the state education department. The Board of Regents chooses a Commissioner of Education who heads the State Education Department and also serves as the President of the University of the State of New York office...
David M. Steiner. The waiver was granted by Steiner, with Black's shortfall in formal qualifications "offset by the appointment of a chief academic officer to serve by her side [as well as her] 'exceptional record of successfully leading complex organizations and achievement of excellence in her endeavors.'" Black appointed Shael Polakow-Suransky
Shael Polakow-Suransky
Shael Polakow-Suransky, 38 in late 2010, a former teacher and principal, was due to be named the chief academic officer of the New York City Public Schools. The appointment was part of a compromise after Mayor Michael Bloomberg nominated a business executive with almost no educational experience,...
to the academic-officer role, and assumed her post January 1, 2011. Steiner announced his own resignation the very same afternoon, but did not disclose any reason. Before her appointment was approved, Bloomberg's office announced supporters of his choice included former Mayors Rudy Giuliani
Rudy Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis "Rudy" Giuliani KBE is an American lawyer, businessman, and politician from New York. He served as Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001....
and Ed Koch
Ed Koch
Edward Irving "Ed" Koch is an American lawyer, politician, and political commentator. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and three terms as mayor of New York City from 1978 to 1989...
, State Senator Malcolm Smith, City Council Majority Leader Joel Rivera
Joel Rivera
Joel Rivera is the Majority Leader of the New York City Council. Elected in a special election in 2001 at 22 years of age, Rivera was the youngest person ever elected to the New York City Council in its history.-Early life and education:...
. Oprah Winfrey has also publicly supported Black as the chancellor.
After taking office, Black upset parents on January 14, 2011, when responding to a question from a parent about overcrowded classrooms in New York City by jokingly suggesting that the solution to future overcrowding may be birth control
Birth control
Birth control is an umbrella term for several techniques and methods used to prevent fertilization or to interrupt pregnancy at various stages. Birth control techniques and methods include contraception , contragestion and abortion...
. Black also said at the same meeting that making decisions about satisfying classroom space concerns is like making "many Sophie's Choice
Sophie's Choice (novel)
Sophie's Choice is a novel by William Styron published in 1979. It concerns a young American Southerner, an aspiring writer, who befriends the Jewish Nathan Landau and his beautiful lover Sophie, a Polish survivor of the Nazi concentration camps...
s" – a reference to a novel in which a mother is forced to choose which of her children is killed at Auschwitz concentration camp
Auschwitz concentration camp
Concentration camp Auschwitz was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II...
. A spokesman for the Department of Education later said Black cares about overcrowding, and "regrets if she left a different impression by making an off-handed joke in the course of that conversation."
As Schools Chancellor, Black presided over meetings on February 1 and February 3, 2011, to close 22 schools that the City classified as failing. Towards the end of the meeting on February 1, Black spoke to the crowd of parents. At that meeting Black told the crowd "I can't speak if you're shouting," and after the crowd continued to boo Black, she responded by imitating the crowd's jeers in a "mocking" fashion. As a result, at the following meeting on February 3, Black was booed by parents and criticized by members of the New York City Council
New York City Council
The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of the City of New York. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The Council serves as a check against the mayor in a "strong" mayor-council government model. The council monitors performance of city agencies and...
.
Personal
Black has been married since 1982 to Thomas E. Harvey, an attorney, and has two children.External links
- Bloomberg Taps Wealthy Media Exec to Replace Joel Klein as NYC School Chief - video report by Democracy Now!Democracy Now!Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...