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2007: Gaston Caperton

Formerly as governor of West Virginia and founding director of the Institute on Education and Governance at Columbia University, and presently as president of the College Board, Caperton has been an extraordinary education statesman. His contributions to education, at the state and national levels, have been truly outstanding. After serving as governor, Caperton went on to become the founding director of the Institute on Education and Governance at Teachers College, Columbia University. Anxious to help his fellow governors with education policymaking, he established education policy seminars for governors and their staffs through the Institute. His national impact on education increased with his appointment as president of the College Board in 1999. He has worked hard to expand access to Advanced Placement courses and examinations throughout the nation, including partnerships with historically black colleges and universities and Hispanic-serving institutions to increase the number of Advanced Placement teachers of color. He has also been unwavering in his support of equity in tuition and financial aid policies and programs, and, in 2005, created the College Board’s Task Force on College Access for Students from Low-Income Backgrounds to address this issue. Under his leadership, the College Board has also broadened its mission to serve students from middle grades through college completion.