Robinson, Sharon Porter
(born: 1944)Sharon Porter Robinson, the daughter of Harriett Bibb Porter and Woodford R. Porter, Sr., was born in Louisville, KY and became the president and CEO of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) 2005-2010. She is the first African American woman to serve as the organization's chief executive officer.
Robinson has also served as senior vice president and COO of the Educational Testing Service (ETS). She was Assistant Secretary of Education with the U.S. Department of Education, served as director of several different departments in the National Education Association (NEA), and in 1993, was appointed by then President Clinton as Assistant Secretary for Education over the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI). It was the first time an African American had been selected for the post. [In 2002, OERI was replaced when President Bush signed into law the Education Sciences Reform Act, which resulted in a new organization, the Institute of Educational Sciences.]
Robinson earned three bachelor's degrees, a master's degree, and her Ph.D. from the University of Kentucky College of Education. She was named to the College's Hall of Fame in 1991.
For more information see Sharon Porter Robinson at the Kentucky Department of Education website; S. P. Robinson, "Preparing teachers for the classroom," CQ Congressional Testimony, Capitol Hill Hearing Testimony section, 5/17/2007, House Education and Labor Committee; and Who's Who Among African Americans (2008).
