Gordon M Ambach

Mr. Ambach is a graduate of Yale University and the graduate schools of education and public administration at Harvard University, From 1967 to 1987 he served New York State, including ten years as State Commissioner of Education and President of the University of the State of New York. While serving as Commissioner, he developed and implemented the nation’s most comprehensive school reform program—the Regents Action Plan—which established the most rigorous diploma standards, and related standards for teachers and schools, in the nation. As Executive Director of the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) from 1987 to 2001, he guided the Council to be a key national organization in shaping education reform. He represented the State Commissioners and Superintendents of Education on national policy positions; led creation of several national coalitions of elementary, secondary and higher education organizations; and substan-tially increased the Council’s service to the states to support their implementation of the expanding Federal education role. During the 1990’s, Mr. Ambach guided U. S. activities which enabled the ma-jor international comparisons of education practices and results. He served on the initial U. S. Board on International Comparative Studies in Education of the National Academy of Sciences and as the U. S. Representative, and Member of the Board, General Assembly of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement. Since 2001, he has worked with non-profit organizations to strengthen education leadership and to better connect education resources with the arts, sciences and defense services of the nation. His participation on Boards, in addition to CNA, has included the Smithsonian Institution National Board, Wallace Foundation, Newspaper Association of America Foundation, National Academy of Sciences Education Board, and New Haven Symphony