Dr. Rudolph F. Crew, President
Dr. Rudolph F. Crew, President
Rudy Crew is a lifelong educator whose career has spanned from the classroom to the chancellorship of the nation’s largest school district, New York City Public Schools. His guiding principle in his work as an educator has always been to provide the means by which all students can achieve high standards. As an education leader, Rudy has demonstrated the courage it takes to make the difficult choices to implement the changes needed for realizing the vision of educational excellence for all students. Though he has climbed the administrative ranks since beginning his career as a teacher in Worcester, Massachusetts, Rudy has always remained a teacher at heart and in practice, often stepping back into the classroom to teach at the elementary through university level. He currently is professor of clinical education at the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education.
Most recently, Rudy served as superintendent of the nation’s fourth-largest school district, Miami-Dade County Public Schools. He worked closely with a gamut of stakeholders to craft a strategic plan that set a clear and compelling vision and direction for Miami-Dade. Under Rudy’s leadership, Miami-Dade progressed dramatically on several fronts including rising student achievement levels, higher academic and conduct standards, and a dramatic reduction in overcrowding. Through such innovations as The Parent Academy, the School Improvement Zone, a Secondary School Reform initiative, and the Education Council of International Cities, Miami-Dade was transformed and viewed as a model for other districts across the nation. In addition, Miami-Dade was recognized as a finalist three years in a row for the prestigious Broad Prize for Urban Education.
Prior to his appointment in Miami-Dade, Rudy served as director of district reform initiatives at the Stupski Foundation, a private philanthropic foundation created to support the improvement of public education. In that role, he led a team that supported selected school districts in comprehensive systems improvement.
Before joining the Stupski Foundation, Rudy served as executive director of the Institute for K-12 Leadership, a partnership of the University of Washington in Seattle and WestEd, based in San Francisco. The Institute served educators and their colleagues as a community of support in which ideas and initiatives were exchanged, evaluated, and aggregated to close the achievement gap that separates this nation’s minority and underserved students from their higher achieving counterparts.
As chancellor of New York City Public Schools, Rudy led a number of reforms, including adoption of curriculum standards for all schools, elimination of tenure for principals, and introduction of school-based budgeting. He was instrumental in closing failing schools and replacing failing educators. Rudy established the Math and Science Institute, an after-school and Saturday program to help poor Black and Latino students boost their academic performance. He created a Superintendents’ and Principals’ Institute to cultivate and nurture school leadership.
Rudy is a nationally-acclaimed educator and author. His publication, Only Connect: The Way to Save Our Schools, is guiding a public discussion. He has received many honors, including the 2008 National Superintendent of the Year; the Florida Association of Partners in Education Superintendent’s Award (2007); the Spirit of Excellence Award from the Minority Development & Empowerment, Inc. (2007); the Vann Miller Award for Outstanding Educational Administrator presented by the Illinois Association of School Administrators (2003); the Living the Dream Award presented by New York Governor George Pataki (1997); and the Arthur Ashe Leadership Award (1996). Rudy serves on several boards and task forces including the Carnegie Foundation’s Commission on Mathematics and Science Education, Al Shanker Institute, USC Rossier School of Education Board of Councilors, the National Superintendents Roundtable, Public Education Network, the National Research Council’s Committee on Scientific Principles of Education Research, and the Education Task Force. He is an associate in education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where he has been part of the Urban Superintendent Program since 1992.
Rudy’s commitment to community has always been strong and his focus on the arts is longstanding. In New York, he served on the Boards of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and the New York Philharmonic. In Miami-Dade, he collaborated with community leaders to expand students’ exposure to cultural institutions and events.
Rudy received a doctor of education degree in educational administration and a master of education degree in urban education from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in management from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts.
