Board of Education has new member

The Indiana State Board of Education has a new face among its members.

Gov. Mike Pence named Gordon Hendry to the Indiana State Board of Education Sept. 25.

“I am pleased Gordon Hendry has agreed to serve on the State Board of Education,” Pence said in a press release. “His leadership experience, commitment to public service and work with both education and economic groups will be a critical asset to the State Board of Education in the years ahead.”

Claire Fiddian-Green, Pence’s special assistant for education innovation, said Pence appointed Hendry after David Shane resigned his seat to serve as chair of the Indiana Region 5 Works Council.

“The Governor has the responsibility to appoint 10 members to the Board,” Fiddian-Green said. “Hendry will serve the remainder of Shane’s term, which runs through Jun. 30, 2014, and then the governor will consider him for a full four-year term.”

Fiddian-Green said the Board is important  in education policy.

“The Board is the policy-making body for K-12 education,” she said. “They establish goals for schools and ensure that the Department of Education supports schools in these goals. They make sure at-risk students are getting the help they need and they enforce school accountability. But their main job is as a policy-maker.”

Hendry is the first vice president of CBRE Group, the world’s largest commercial real estate services firm. He serves as the Midwest regional leader of the company’s Public Institutions and Education Solutions Group.

He also was a part of Indy Partnership, an economic development group serving 10 counties in central Indiana, and served as the director of Economic Development under former Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson.
Fiddian-Green said his ties to business and work on economic development made him a strong candidate.

 “We need to ask, ‘is our education system providing our students with the skills for the jobs of tomorrow?,’ and Hendry’s experience in economic development will help with that,” she said.

Hendry will start working as a member  today.

— Stephen Kroll