“R” is for Riley, Richard Wilson (b. 1933). Governor, U.S. secretary of education. A native of Greenville, in 1962 Riley was elected to the state House of Representatives from Greenville. He served until 1966 when he was elected to the state Senate. During his ten years in the Senate, Riley was one of a group of progressive-minded legislators. In 1978 he won the Democratic gubernatorial nomination and won the general election with sixty-one percent of the vote. As governor he pressed for reform causes and a change to the state constitution that would allow a governor to serve a second term. Re-elected to a second term, he skillfully maneuvered the passage of the Education Improvement Act—considered a national model of education reform. From 1993 to 2001, Richard Wilson Riley served as U.S. secretary of education.
“R” is for Riley, Richard Wilson (b. 1933)
