Sara Tucker
Encyclopedia
Sara Martinez Tucker was the Under Secretary of Education
at the U.S. Department of Education and former president and Chief Executive Officer
of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund.
Under her leadership, HSF continues to expand its ability to meet the needs of Latino
students and families. Her accomplishments include growing the organization’s annual budget
from $3.5 million to more than $40 million; raising a landmark $50 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc; and successfully stewarding the Hispanic portion of the $1 billion Gates Millennium Scholars Program.
In her time at the helm of HSF, Tucker has generated funds for almost $135 million in scholarship
s to more than 39,000 students, clearly establishing HSF as the premier Hispanic higher education organization in the U.S. Recognizing that scholarships alone will not get HSF to its goal, she led the launch of community
outreach programs to raise college expectations in Latino families and communities. To date, these programs have directly touched more than 65,000 students, parents, HSF alumni, and community members.
Tucker is a founding board member of the National Center for Educational Accountability and the National Scholarship Providers Association. Since 2001, she has served on the seven-member North American Diversity Advisory board of Toyota Motor Corporation to raise employee awareness and provide counsel on diversity issues.
Before joining HSF in 1996, Tucker spent 16 years at AT&T
, becoming the first Latina to reach the company’s executive level. In her last assignment at the company, she served as a regional vice president for AT&T’s Global Business Communications Systems, where she led a $400 million division to its highest profit levels. Prior to this, Tucker was vice president for Consumer Operations, a $370 million operation with 6,500 employees serving AT&T’s 80 million consumers. Under her leadership, this group contributed to the division’s receipt of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award
.
A native of Laredo, Texas
, Tucker received her undergraduate degree in journalism
, graduating with honors from the University of Texas at Austin
. She was a general-assignments reporter for the San Antonio Express before returning to U.T., where she received a master of business administration degree with high honors. More recently, Tucker received an honorary doctorate in law from the University of Notre Dame
and an honorary doctor of humane letters from Boston College
. Tucker and her husband, Greg, live in San Francisco, California
.
In 2005, TIME Magazine named her one of the 25 most influential Hispanic
s in America; Town & Country
ranked her among the young, new breed of philanthropist
s. As president and CEO of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, Tucker Martinez Tucker pursues an aggressive goal: to double the rate of Hispanics earning college degree
s by 2010.
Tucker was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the U.S. Under Secretary of Education in December 2006. Her primary initiative will be to carry out the recommendations of the Commission on the Future of Higher Education
.
In January 2007, Tucker announced a controversial decision to allow Nelnet
to keep $278 million in overpayments that Department of Education auditors had declared improper. Her ties to Nelnet
through her stewardship of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund came under fire from several members of Congress as a result of this decision.
Under Secretary of Education
The Under Secretary of Education is the third highest ranking official in the United States Department of Education. The Under Secretary oversees policies, programs, and activities related to postsecondary education, vocational and adult education, and federal student aid.The Office of the Under...
at the U.S. Department of Education and former president and Chief Executive Officer
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund.
Under her leadership, HSF continues to expand its ability to meet the needs of Latino
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...
students and families. Her accomplishments include growing the organization’s annual budget
Budget
A budget is a financial plan and a list of all planned expenses and revenues. It is a plan for saving, borrowing and spending. A budget is an important concept in microeconomics, which uses a budget line to illustrate the trade-offs between two or more goods...
from $3.5 million to more than $40 million; raising a landmark $50 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc; and successfully stewarding the Hispanic portion of the $1 billion Gates Millennium Scholars Program.
In her time at the helm of HSF, Tucker has generated funds for almost $135 million in scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
s to more than 39,000 students, clearly establishing HSF as the premier Hispanic higher education organization in the U.S. Recognizing that scholarships alone will not get HSF to its goal, she led the launch of community
Community
The term community has two distinct meanings:*a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household...
outreach programs to raise college expectations in Latino families and communities. To date, these programs have directly touched more than 65,000 students, parents, HSF alumni, and community members.
Tucker is a founding board member of the National Center for Educational Accountability and the National Scholarship Providers Association. Since 2001, she has served on the seven-member North American Diversity Advisory board of Toyota Motor Corporation to raise employee awareness and provide counsel on diversity issues.
Before joining HSF in 1996, Tucker spent 16 years at AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
, becoming the first Latina to reach the company’s executive level. In her last assignment at the company, she served as a regional vice president for AT&T’s Global Business Communications Systems, where she led a $400 million division to its highest profit levels. Prior to this, Tucker was vice president for Consumer Operations, a $370 million operation with 6,500 employees serving AT&T’s 80 million consumers. Under her leadership, this group contributed to the division’s receipt of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award
Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award
The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recognizes U.S. organizations in the business, health care, education, and nonprofit sectors for performance excellence. The Baldrige Award is the only formal recognition of the performance excellence of both public and private U.S. organizations given by...
.
A native of Laredo, Texas
Laredo, Texas
Laredo is the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, located on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. According to the 2010 census, the city population was 236,091 making it the 3rd largest on the United States-Mexican border,...
, Tucker received her undergraduate degree in journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
, graduating with honors from the University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
. She was a general-assignments reporter for the San Antonio Express before returning to U.T., where she received a master of business administration degree with high honors. More recently, Tucker received an honorary doctorate in law from the University of Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
and an honorary doctor of humane letters from Boston College
Boston College
Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...
. Tucker and her husband, Greg, live in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
.
In 2005, TIME Magazine named her one of the 25 most influential Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
s in America; Town & Country
Town & Country (magazine)
Town & Country, formerly the Home Journal and The National Press, is a monthly American lifestyle magazine. It is the oldest continually published general interest magazine in the United States.-Early history:...
ranked her among the young, new breed of philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
s. As president and CEO of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, Tucker Martinez Tucker pursues an aggressive goal: to double the rate of Hispanics earning college degree
Academic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
s by 2010.
Tucker was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the U.S. Under Secretary of Education in December 2006. Her primary initiative will be to carry out the recommendations of the Commission on the Future of Higher Education
Commission on the Future of Higher Education
The formation of a Commission on the Future of Higher Education, also known as the Spellings Commission, was announced on September 19, 2005 by U.S. Secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings...
.
In January 2007, Tucker announced a controversial decision to allow Nelnet
Nelnet
Nelnet is a Lincoln, Nebraska-based lending conglomerate that deals in the administration and repayment of student loans.-History:Nelnet was founded as the UNIPAC Loan Service Corporation in 1978 and renamed Nelnet in 1996. Its current Chairman & Chief Executive Officer is Michael S. Dunlap...
to keep $278 million in overpayments that Department of Education auditors had declared improper. Her ties to Nelnet
Nelnet
Nelnet is a Lincoln, Nebraska-based lending conglomerate that deals in the administration and repayment of student loans.-History:Nelnet was founded as the UNIPAC Loan Service Corporation in 1978 and renamed Nelnet in 1996. Its current Chairman & Chief Executive Officer is Michael S. Dunlap...
through her stewardship of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund came under fire from several members of Congress as a result of this decision.