Former U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, explains his successes and failures of his tenure during during the Ubben Lecture on Thursday night. Duncan served from 2009-2016 under fellow Chicago native and U.S. President, Barack Obama. SAM CARAVANA / THE DEPAUW

 The final Ubben lecture of this school year began with president-elect Mark McCoy, Professor Jamie Stockton, and then, the main guest, speaker Arne Duncan. McCoy spoke about the 30-year tradition of the Ubben lecture as being “a wonderful opportunity for students to meet and interact with the world.”

Professor Stockton, Chair of the Education Studies Department, then made the introduction for former U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan. “Formal education within the U.S. or the man-made system that has been constructed as such, affects us all in a multitude of ways:  most of us (unless home-schooled) were taught under such a structure, most have or will have children (or will adopt children) who ‘learn’ in such a system, and all who continue to live within the U.S. borders will pay tax money that supports such entities,” said Stockton. “Thus, we should all care deeply about educational issues.”

Duncan began his lecture by talking about his mother and childhood. He explained that his mother taught a Bible school class after school in an impoverished area of Chicago. Duncan went on to tell the crowd that he grew up watching her work and gave some examples of the success stories that came from that after-school program. “You have to both be teaching and be taught at the same time,” Duncan said about his mother’s teaching philosophy.

He explained his years of experience working with his mother throughout his junior and senior years of college and consequently decided he wanted to move his professional career into the education field. He started changing the scale of how he thought about education into a larger one. “It’s easy to throw stones, but it’s hard to go in and work,” Duncan said.

Duncan then asked for Mike Hollack, the founder of the Academy for Urban School Leadership, to stand up to be recognized for his work in getting over 30 schools to be part of the program. This program focuses on acquiring some of the best teachers for less privileged parts of Chicago. He also mentioned that the AUSL is hiring two teachers from DePauw next year, which Duncan compared to a “pipeline of talent.”

He then asked for Janeya Cunningham to stand to be acknowledged for her work in Chicago that was centered on peace in the city. “We as adults have failed our kids,” Duncan expressed.

After acknowledging audience members, Duncan went on to discuss why he moved out to Washington before completing a decade in the Chicago Public School system. He explained that he went to work with President Obama because of of his compassion for kids. He thought that this was the only job he would have left.

Duncan then spoke to his accomplishments in the White House. He explained the increase in the people of color attending college, and the increasing rate of students who graduate from high school were some of his best accomplishments. “I did way more than I thought possible,” Duncan said.

Duncan then went on to talk about his three biggest failures during his time serving the president. He told a story of a Republican senator who told him that he agreed with the policies he was implementing but could not support him because of party. “It optimized what’s wrong with Washington,” Duncan said. He then went on to speak about his disappointment when he could not get financial aid for undocumented students.

Finally, he discussed how the violence that occurred in the Sandy Hook Massacre was the hardest day in office for him and how the lack of gun control laws that were passed discouraged him even more.

“We don’t value our kids enough, that’s the common thread,” Duncan said. He explained that by removing half of the nonviolent offenders in prisons and taking the $15 billion that would come from that, the nation could increase teachers’ pay significantly. Duncan expressed his interest in making sure that the money paid by the taxpayers went to something that was making a positive impact.

Duncan gave three examples of great schools he visited and how they were all forward-thinking and putting kids first. He then challenged the audience to think about and vote in this upcoming election, to not underestimate the impact that they can have on a child’s life and to consider a career in public service. 

To conclude his speech, he reminded the audience about the importance of listening to what others have to say, especially those from different backgrounds. He also emphasized the importance of being a change agent in society. “Think less about the job and more about the problem you want to solve,” Duncan said.

Former U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan,  answers a question from junior Mary Church during during the Ubben Lecture on Thursday night. Duncan served from 2009-2016 under fellow Chicago native and U.S. President, Barack Obama. SAM CARAVANA / THE DEPAUW

After his speech, Duncan gave a question and answer session where many were curious about his views on the way schools needed to be run in order to create the best environment for both teachers and students. There was a standing ovation at the end of his speech, but students seemed to have mixed feelings overall.

“I really liked his story and his background with his mom and that’s something I can relate to as the child of a teacher,” First-year Rebecca Sellers said. “Also I was looking up facts about him. I was shocked when I saw that the person in charge of public education for all of the United States sends his children to private school, so I wished somebody would have mentioned that.”