David T. Kearns
David T. Kearns | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Rochester, New York, U.S. |
| Died | February 25, 2011 (aged 80) Vero Beach, Florida, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Business executive, government official, author |
| Years active | 1954–2011 |
| Known for | Chairman and CEO of Xerox Corporation; first United States Deputy Secretary of Education |
David Todd Kearns (August 11, 1930 – February 25, 2011) was a prominent American executive who held the positions of chairman and CEO at Xerox Corporation and was appointed as the inaugural United States Deputy Secretary of Education from 1991 until 1993.
Early life and education
Kearns was born and grew up in Rochester, New York. He completed his Bachelor of Business Administration at the University of Rochester in 1952, where he was affiliated with the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity.
Career
Following his flight training with the United States Navy, Kearns began his corporate career at IBM in 1954.
Xerox Corporation
In 1971, Kearns joined Xerox as vice president, initially managing U.S. marketing and service operations based in Rochester. He later took charge of international markets from Xerox’s Stamford, Connecticut office. Rising through the ranks, he was named president and COO in 1977, advanced to CEO in 1982, and assumed the role of chairman in 1985, succeeding Charles Peter McColough.
U.S. Department of Education
President George H. W. Bush nominated Kearns in March 1991 to become the first Deputy Secretary of Education; he received Senate confirmation in May of that year. In response to the 1992 Los Angeles riots, he was designated as White House liaison to help facilitate conflict resolution initiatives.
Later career
Kearns departed the Department of Education on January 20, 1993, and subsequently joined Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education faculty for a two-year tenure. His board memberships included the Ford Foundation, Time Warner, Dayton Hudson, and Ryder. Additionally, he served as chairman of the National Urban League.
He led New American Schools, an organization dedicated to advancing educational reform in the United States; this entity eventually merged with the American Institutes for Research.
In recognition of his contributions, the University of Rochester created the David T. Kearns Center for Leadership and Diversity in Science and Engineering to promote greater involvement in science and engineering professions.
Kearns authored multiple books such as Winning the Brain Race: A Bold Plan to Make Our Schools Competitive (1988), Prophets in the Dark: How Xerox Reinvented Itself and Beat Back the Japanese (1992), A Legacy of Learning (1999), and Crossing the Bridge: Family, Business, Education, Cancer, and the Lessons Learned (2005).
Personal life
Together with his wife Shirley, Kearns raised four daughters and two sons; their family extended to eighteen grandchildren.
In 1993, he lost his left eye due to radiation therapy for cancer and wore an eye patch thereafter.
Kearns passed away on February 25, 2011, at age eighty in Vero Beach, Florida, from complications associated with sinus cancer.
Awards
- In 1990, he was inducted into the American Philosophical Society
- Received the Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement in 1991
- Became a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1992
- Honored with the University of Rochester's Hutchison Medal—the institution’s highest alumni award—in 1996
- Awarded the Frederick Douglass Medal by the University of Rochester and Frederick Douglass Institute in 2008