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Madeleine
Kunin
(photo
couresty of Paul Boisvert) |
The
Honorable Madeleine Kunin
former
Governor of Vermont and Ambassador to Switzerland
The Riley Institute
at Furman welcomed Governor Madeleine to Furman University on September
20, 2009. Governor Kunin delivered an address, "Pearls Politics,
and Power: How Women Can Win and Lead" on September 21, 2009,
7 p.m. in Shaw Hall, Melvin and Dollie Younts Conference Center
at Furman University.
Madeleine May
Kunin is a former Vermont state legislator (1972-1978), Lieutenant
Governor (1978-1982), Governor of Vermont (1985-1991) and U.S. Ambassador
to Switzerland (1996-99). During her tenure as U.S. Ambassador to
Switzerland, she dealt with the question of Jewish World War II
assets and Nazi-looted gold. She helped to prod Switzerland to confront
its past and take action. At the same time she worked to maintain
a positive relationship between Switzerland and the United States,
two countries that have a long-standing friendship.
Prior to her
appointment as ambassador, she served for three and a half years
as U.S. deputy secretary of education in the Clinton Administration.
As chief operating officer of the department, Governor Kunin served
on the president's management council, which dealt with "reinventing
government." While at the U.S. Department of Education, she
worked on a series of legislative acts that included the Goals 2000:
Educate America Act and the Safe and Drug-Free Schools Act.
Governor Kunin's
efforts in education, the environment, and women's issues played
a large role in her rise through the political ranks of Vermont.
She is the first woman to have served three terms as governor of
any state and the fourth woman to be elected governor in her own
right. During her tenure, she substantially increased funding for
education and concentrated on improving the quality of education.
One of her environmental achievements was to establish the Vermont
Housing and Land Conservation Trust Fund, a program that has created
affordable housing and land preservation to the benefit of thousands
of Vermonters. She initiated Dr. Dinosaur, a program to provide
health insurance for Vermont children.
Governor Kunin
has received more than twenty honorary degrees. In addition to Pearls,
Politics and Power: How Women Can Win and Lead, she is the
author of two other books, Living a Political Life and
The Big Green Book. She currently serves as President of
the board of the Institute for Sustainable Communities, a non-governmental
organization that she founded in 1991. She is a Fellow of the American
Academy of Arts and Sciences. She is also a regular commentator
on Vermont Public Radio.
Kunin graduated
with a B.S. cum laude from the University of Massachusetts; a M.S.
from Columbia University; a M.A. from the University of Vermont;
Program for State and Local Government and Fellow, Institute of
Politics, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.
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