David T. Kearns

David Todd Kearns (August 11, 1930 – February 25, 2011) was an American businessman who was CEO of Xerox Corporation (1982–1990) and Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education (1991–1993). He died on the 25th of February, 2011.

Early life

Kearns grew up in Rochester, New York where he met his future wife, Shirley Virginia Cox. He earned a degree in business administration in 1952 from the University of Rochester. Kearns entered U.S. Navy flight school and was deployed to the Mediterranean Sea aboard the USS Coral Sea as an airman. Starting in 1954, Kearns worked at IBM.^[1]

Xerox Corporation

In 1971, Kearns joined Xerox Corporation as Vice President. He also served as head of U.S./Marketing and Service at Xerox in Rochester, New York and later as Vice President of Foreign Markets in Stamford, Connecticut. In 1977, he became Xerox President and Chief Operating Officer. In 1982, Kearns became CEO of Xerox Corporation. In 1985, Kearns succeeded Charles Peter McColough as Chairman of Xerox.^[1]

Department of Education

Kearns was nominated by President George H.W. Bush as Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education on March 22, 1991. The United States Senate confirmed him for the position on May 31, 1991.

Following the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles, California, President George H.W. Bush appointed Kearns as White House liaison to help resolve the conflict.^[2]

Private life

Kearns left the US Department of Education on January 20, 1993. He later joined the faculty of Harvard University's Graduate School of Education where he taught for two years. Kearns has served on the board of trustees for the Ford Foundation, Time Warner, Dayton Hudson, and Ryder. He is also a former Chairman of the National Urban League.^[1]

Kearns was Chairman of New American Schools, an organization dedicated to excellence in American schools. New American Schools has since merged with the American Institutes for Research.

The University of Rochester established the David T. Kearns Center for Leadership and Diversity in Science and Engineering to expand the pool of individuals who pursue undergraduate and graduate careers in the sciences and engineering.^[3]

Kearns has published three books including: Winning the Brain Race (1991), A Legacy of Learning (1999) and Crossing the Bridge: Family, Business, Education, Cancer, and the Lessons Learned (2005).

Kearns and his wife, Shirley, have four daughters and two sons. They have 18 grandchildren, one of which, Geoffrey Kearns Young is currently enrolled at the University of Alabama.

Death: According to the New York Times, “David T. Kearns, a former chief executive at the Xerox Corporation and a champion of education reform who served as deputy secretary of education under the first President George Bush, died Friday, February 25th, 2011 at a hospice near his winter home in Vero Beach, Florida at the age of 80 from complications related to sinus cancer, which he had battled since 1992, according to the University of Rochester, where he served as a trustee for more than three decades.”

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Kearns, David T (31 May 2005). "Crossing the Bridge: Family, Business, Education, Cancer, and the Lessons Learned". Meliora Press. 
2. ^ George Bush Presidential Library & Museum (1992). Remarks in a Roundtable Discussion With Leaders of the African-American Community in Los Angeles.
3. ^ University of Rochester (2005). David T. Kearns Center.

External links

• David T. Kearns Center for Leadership and Diversity in Arts, Sciences and Engineering

Business positions
Preceded by Archie R. McCardell	President of Xerox Corporation 1977–1985	Succeeded by Paul A. Allaire
Preceded by C. Peter McColough	CEO of Xerox Corporation 1982 – July 31, 1990	Succeeded by Paul A. Allaire
Preceded by C. Peter McColough	Chairman of Xerox Corporation 1985–1991	Succeeded by Paul A. Allaire

Persondata
Name	Kearns, David T.
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	August 11, 1930
Place of birth
Date of death	February 25, 2011
Place of death	Hospice, Florida