Rod PaigeFile photo
Former President George W. Bush, who appointed Paige to lead the Department of Education, announced his death in a statement but did not provide additional details.
Paige's tenure as education secretary from 2001 to 2005 marked a pivotal shift in federal education policy. Under his leadership, the department implemented No Child Left Behind, Bush's signature 2002 education law that established universal testing standards and imposed sanctions on underperforming schools. The legislation drew directly from Paige's reforms as superintendent of the Houston Independent School District, where his data-driven approach to student achievement caught the attention of then-Texas Governor Bush.
"Rod was a leader and a friend," Bush said. "Unsatisfied with the status quo, he challenged what we called 'the soft bigotry of low expectations.' Rod worked hard to make sure that where a child was born didn't determine whether they could succeed in school and beyond."
Roderick R. Paige was born in Monticello, Mississippi, a small town of about 1,400 residents, to two teachers. The eldest of five children, he served two years in the U.S. Navy before embarking on a career in education that began on the football field.
Paige coached at the high school and junior college levels before becoming head coach at his alma mater, Jackson State University, a historically Black institution in Mississippi's capital. In 1967, his team made history by becoming the first to integrate Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium, previously an all-White venue, in a watershed moment for sports and civil rights in the Deep South.
After relocating to Houston in the mid-1970s to coach at Texas Southern University, Paige transitioned from athletics to academic administration. He progressed from teacher to administrator and ultimately served as dean of the university's college of education from 1984 to 1994.
