The Rod Paige Scholars & Leaders Foundation honors Dr. Roderick Raynor Paige Sr., 7th United States Secretary of Education and the first African American to serve in that office. The Foundation develops the next generation of educators and education leaders. We fund their study, we mentor their advancement, and we preserve the record of Dr. Paige’s work as a resource for their practice.
Our Purpose
Dr. Paige spent more than fifty years inside American education as a teacher, coach, dean, superintendent, and cabinet secretary. He treated education as a civil right and built institutions that acted on that conviction. The Foundation invests in the people who will do that work next, and it equips them with the scholarship funding, the mentorship, and the historical record that strengthen their leadership.
Scholars Program
The Foundation awards annual scholarships to college students pursuing a Bachelor, Masters, or Doctorate in education, public policy, and community leadership. Recipients enter a network of Foundation scholars who share resources and support one another through their preparation and into their careers.
Leaders Program
The Foundation connects current and emerging education leaders with superintendents, policymakers, and veteran public servants through structured mentorship circles. Participants develop the governance, finance, and instructional leadership skills that school systems require of the people who run them.
Digital Library
The Foundation preserves the speeches, correspondence, publications, and photographs that document Dr. Paige’s career in Mississippi, in Houston, and in Washington. Researchers, students, and families access the collection online at no cost. The archive grows as the family and the Foundation continue to identify and digitize materials.
Research and Partnership
The Foundation collaborates with education organizations and thought leaders, among them American College of Education and the Center for Education Reform, to advance research and innovation that expand opportunity for students. By convening partners and connecting resources, the Foundation strengthens outcomes for students and for the educators who serve them.
Our Commitment
Dr. Paige’s family, the Foundation’s board, and its partners direct this work together. Every scholarship awarded, every leader developed, and every document preserved extends the reach of a career that opened doors for millions of American schoolchildren.