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Frank Macchiarola (1941-2012), RIP

Chester E. Finn, Jr.
12.20.2012
Frank Macchiarola
Frank Macchiarola will be much missed.
Photo from the New York Times.

It's been years since I last saw Frank Macchiarola, whom I encountered most often during his extended tenure (1978-83) as New York City's schools chancellor back when Ed Koch was mayor—and long before the mayor was really in charge of education. But then and since, it was always a pleasure and a learning experience to bump into him, to share a meeting or meal with him, and so on. The son of a sanitation worker, he had a distinguished and remarkably diverse career in key positions in education (both K–12 and higher) and government, always in New York. He was student-centered, politically astute, tireless, very smart, entrepreneurial—and kind, generous, and decent. He'll be much missed, not least by me. We need more like him.

Tags: New York

Chester E. Finn, Jr., scholar, educator and public servant, has devoted his career to improving education in the United States. At Fordham, he is now Distinguished Senior Fellow and President Emeritus. He’s also a Volker Senior Fellow at…

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