Eugene W. Hickok
Encyclopedia
Advocate
An advocate is a term for a professional lawyer used in several different legal systems. These include Scotland, South Africa, India, Scandinavian jurisdictions, Israel, and the British Crown dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man...
for public education
Public education
State schools, also known in the United States and Canada as public schools,In much of the Commonwealth, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, the terms 'public education', 'public school' and 'independent school' are used for private schools, that is, schools...
reform and an expert in constitutional law
Constitutional law
Constitutional law is the body of law which defines the relationship of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the legislature and the judiciary....
.
President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
nominated Hickok as his Deputy Secretary of Education
United States Deputy Secretary of Education
The Deputy Secretary of Education oversees and manages the development of policies in the United States Department of Education. The Deputy Secretary focuses primarily on K–12 education policy, such as No Child Left Behind, the High School Initiative, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education...
on March 30, 2001 and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 10, 2001. Hickok served as both the Under Secretary of Education and Acting Deputy Secretary between July 2003 and November 3, 2003 when the President nominated him to become Deputy Secretary. The deputy secretary is the chief policy advisor to the Secretary. In this position, Hickok oversaw and managed the development of policies, recommendations and initiatives that help define a broad, coherent vision for achieving the President's education priorities, including the No Child Left Behind Act
No Child Left Behind Act
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 is a United States Act of Congress concerning the education of children in public schools.NCLB was originally proposed by the administration of George W. Bush immediately after he took office...
(NCLB).
However, on December 2, 2004, Hickok announced he was resigning as deputy education secretary, one week after a federal study concluded that charter schools were "less likely to meet state performance standards" due to "higher numbers of low-achieving minority students from poor families." The relative performance of charter schools compared to the national public school system is a debated aspect of NCLB. In addition, two months earlier the Government Accountability Office
Government Accountability Office
The Government Accountability Office is the audit, evaluation, and investigative arm of the United States Congress. It is located in the legislative branch of the United States government.-History:...
had also criticized NCLB citing "serious obstacles" and "a lack of clear and timely guidance from federal officials" in response to the program's newly expanded annual testing practices. The GAO recommended that the Department of Education provide states with written guidelines, however Hickok rejected the request.
In July 2005, Hickok was hired by Washington, DC-based Dutko Worldwide
Dutko Worldwide
Dutko Worldwide is a Washington, DC based bipartisan lobbying firm that offers "comprehensive public policy management." DW's services include "Issues and opportunities assessment, Strategy Development, Crisis Management, Execution of sound public policy management programs." It identifies as its...
to head their education practice. Dutko is a Washington, DC-based government affairs firm who, according to their web site, is "consistently ranked as one of the top 10 most powerful lobbying firms in the country by FORTUNE
Fortune (magazine)
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magazine." Also in July, former deputy education secretary Hickok registered as a lobbyist with the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Office of Public Records.
Before joining the George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
administration, Hickok was Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Education
Pennsylvania Department of Education
The Pennsylvania Department of Education is the executive department of the state charged with K-12 and adult educational budgeting, management and guidelines. As the state education agency, its activities are directed by Pennsylvania's Secretary of Education, Gerald L. Zahorchak...
, where he was responsible for overseeing the state's education system - kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
through college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
. He was an advocate for parental choice and accountability in education and introduced standards for students and teachers. He was an early advocate for public charter schools
Charter school
Charter schools are primary or secondary schools that receive public money but are not subject to some of the rules, regulations, and statutes that apply to other public schools in exchange for some type of accountability for producing certain results, which are set forth in each school's charter...
and worked to pass Pennsylvania's law to allow for the creation of locally designed charter public schools.
Hickok also was a founding member and chairman of the Education Leaders Council, a group of reform-minded education chiefs who oversaw 30 percent of the nation's K-12
K-12
K–12 is a designation for the sum of primary and secondary education. It is used in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand where P–12 is also commonly used...
public school students in 2000.
For 15 years, Hickok taught political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
at Dickinson College
Dickinson College
Dickinson College is a private, residential liberal arts college in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Originally established as a Grammar School in 1773, Dickinson was chartered September 9, 1783, five days after the signing of the Treaty of Paris, making it the first college to be founded in the newly...
in Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Carlisle is a borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The name is traditionally pronounced with emphasis on the second syllable. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2010 census, the borough...
, and served as director of the college's Clarke Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Contemporary Issues. He also was an adjunct professor at the Dickinson School of Law. He was recognized as an outstanding teacher and was twice awarded Dickinson's prestigious Ganoe Award for Inspirational Teaching in 1985 and 1990. Hickok now serves as an adjunct professor of Constitutional Politics at the University of Richmond
University of Richmond
The University of Richmond is a selective, private, nonsectarian, liberal arts university located on the border of the city of Richmond and Henrico County, Virginia. The University of Richmond is a primarily undergraduate, residential university with approximately 4,000 undergraduate and graduate...
.
He also was an associate director of the political science department at Mississippi State University
Mississippi State University
The Mississippi State University of Agriculture and Applied Science commonly known as Mississippi State University is a land-grant university located in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, United States, partially in the town of Starkville and partially in an unincorporated area...
, and the director of financial aid for Hampden-Sydney College
Hampden-Sydney College
Hampden–Sydney College is a liberal arts college for men located in Hampden Sydney, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1775, Hampden–Sydney is the oldest private charter college in the Southern U.S., the last college founded before the American Revolution, and one of only three four-year,...
in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
.
An expert on public policy
Public policy
Public policy as government action is generally the principled guide to action taken by the administrative or executive branches of the state with regard to a class of issues in a manner consistent with law and institutional customs. In general, the foundation is the pertinent national and...
, the U.S. Constitution and Federalism
Federalism
Federalism is a political concept in which a group of members are bound together by covenant with a governing representative head. The term "federalism" is also used to describe a system of the government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and...
, Hickok has published articles and books on government and public policy, and has made presentations on these topics before myriad local, state and national organizations. In 1991, Dr. Hickok was a consultant to the governments of Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
and Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
regarding constitutional, political, and economic reform.
In 1986 and 1987, Hickok served as a special assistant in the Office of Legal Counsel at the U.S. Department of Justice. He also has served as an adjunct scholar at the Heritage Foundation
Heritage Foundation
The Heritage Foundation is a conservative American think tank based in Washington, D.C. Heritage's stated mission is to "formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong...
, where he was a resident scholar in 1990 and 1991.
He was elected as a member of the Carlisle Area School District Board of Directors and served until his appointment in 1995 as Education Secretary.
Dr. Hickok is a 1972 graduate of Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia. He also received his master's and Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
from the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
.
He also served on the Carlisle Area School District School Board, before being appointed by former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge.