Co-founded the independent Cornerstone Schools in Detroit in 1991 and served as Chair or CEO for 18 years. He started the Arnold Palmer Turning Point Invitational and “Be a Tiger For Kids” with the Detroit Tigers. As President of the State Board of Education under Governor John Engler, he led an effort to define an excellent education, strengthen standards and accountability, and develop charter schools. In 1984 the U.S. Senate confirmed Durant to the Legal Services Corporation. He served four years as Chair. Secretary of Transportation Elizabeth Dole nominated Durant Trustee of the Ann Arbor Railroad where he turned a state-owned railroad into a profitable enterprise. Formerly the Director of PMG at Munder Capital, Durant practiced law for 20 years. He serves on the boards of the University of Detroit Jesuit High School, Cornerstone Schools, Michigan Center for Theoretical Physics, and First Tee of Michigan.