'Education was the main thing'

Mark Lett:

Richard Riley worked the levers of politics, government and education for more than a half-century by giving respect, taking advice, setting expectations, staying focused and never giving up.
Most of all, he never gave up.

As it turned out, Riley did it right. His career has been as successful as it has been tenacious. Now 79 and living and working in his hometown of Greenville, Riley:

Mobilized support to overwhelm anti-tax sentiment and pass a tax increase for public education in 1984, producing what Southern historian Walter Edgar called "one of the most important pieces of education legislation ever passed in South Carolina."

Posted by Jim Zellmer at March 28, 2011 4:23 AM
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