Joel Klein
| Joel Klein | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Chancellor of New York City Schools | |
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In office August 19, 2002 – January 1, 2011 |
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| Appointed by | Michael Bloomberg |
| Preceded by | Harold Levy |
| Succeeded by | Cathie Black |
| United States Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division | |
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In office 1996–2000 |
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| President | Bill Clinton |
| Preceded by | Anne Bingaman |
| Succeeded by | Douglas Melamed |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
October 25, 1946 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Nicole Seligman |
| Alma mater |
Columbia University Harvard University |
| Religion | Judaism |
Joel Irwin Klein (born October 25, 1946) is an American lawyer and school superintendent. He was the Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education, the largest public school system in the United States, serving more than 1.1 million students in more than 1,600 schools. He was succeeded by Cathie Black in January 2011.
New York magazine ranked Klein as one of the most influential people in public education. Klein had never obtained the common formal credentials that one would have to take a leadership role in a public school system, and Klein had a short duration of teaching experience.
Klein grew up in New York City and attended public schools, graduating from William Cullen Bryant High School in Queens in 1963. He attended Columbia University, graduating magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. He received his law degree from Harvard Law School, again graduating magna cum laude, in 1971. He then clerked for Chief Judge David Bazelon on the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit from 1973 until 1974, before then clerking for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell.
In 1975, Klein joined the legal team of the Washington, D.C., non-profit Mental Health Law Project. The MHLP was an independent non-profit organization that brought class-action suits to establish rights for mentally and developmentally disabled clients. In that capacity, Klein developed a specialty in health care and constitutional matters. After working there for a year, he went into private practice, working for five years before founding his own law firm with several partners. In the 1990s Klein served in the White House Counsel's office under President Bill Clinton before being appointed to the United States Department of Justice. There he served as United States Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division. In this capacity, he was the lead prosecutor in the antitrust case United States v. Microsoft. Prior to his appointment to Chancellor in 2002 by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Klein was Counsel to Bertelsmann, an international media group.
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