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Former United States Secretary of Education
Senior Partner
Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP
EducationCounsel, LLC

When Riley was Governor of South Carolina, he won national recognition for his highly successful effort to improve education there. He was so popular that the people amended their constitution to enable him to run for a second term. During his service as U. S. Secretary of Education, Riley was referred to as one of the "most decent and honorable people in public life" by renowned Washington Post reporter David Broder. And the Christian Science Monitor reported that many Americans regard Dick Riley as "one of the great statesmen of education in this (20th) century." More recently, in 2009, TIME Magazine named Riley one of the Top 10 Best Cabinet Members in our nation's history.

President Clinton chose Dick Riley to be his Secretary of Education beginning in January 1993. During the President's first term, Riley helped launch historic initiatives to raise academic standards; to improve instruction for the poor and disadvantaged; to expand grants and loan programs to help more Americans go to college; to prepare young people for the world of work; and to improve teaching. He also created the Partnership for Family Involvement in Education, which included more than 4,000 groups.

Riley's efforts were so successful that President Clinton asked him to stay on in his second term to continue to lead his national crusade for excellence in education. Riley and the President agreed (then and now) that education must be America's "Number One" priority. During the second term, Riley helped win a historic FCC ruling to give schools and libraries deep discounts for Internet access and telecommunications services (the E-rate), major improvements in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and other measures to accomplish the President's agenda to provide a high-quality education for all of America's students.

After leaving his national post in January 2001, Riley rejoined the South Carolina-based law firm of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, now with offices throughout both of the Carolinas and in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Huntington (WV), Tallahassee and Washington, DC. He also is Senior Partner of the firm's affiliate, EducationCounsel, which provides strategy, policy, advocacy and legal advice to entities across the country that are seeking to advance education improvement. Riley also chairs the Board of Trustees of his alma mater, Furman University, and serves as Advisory Board Chair of the Richard W. Riley Institute of Government, Politics and Public Leadership there. He serves with many other boards and collaborations that promote education improvement, public service and leadership.

Dick Riley was born in Greenville County, South Carolina. He graduated cum laude from Furman University, served as an officer on a U. S. Navy minesweeper, then received a law degree from the University of South Carolina. He was a state representative and state senator from 1963-1977, was elected governor in 1978 and reelected in 1982. Riley and his wife (now deceased), Ann Yarborough Riley – affectionately known by all as Tunky Riley, have four children.