Mary Frances Early
College of Education
2021 Outstanding Service Award
Inez Moore Tenenbaum (B.S.Ed. ’72, M.Ed. ’74) began her career as an elementary school teacher in Georgia and then went on to serve two terms as the elected State School Superintendent for South Carolina. Under her leadership, the state of South Carolina was identified by Education Week as having the highest academic standards and assessment and accountability system in the country. South Carolina also showed the greatest growth of any state in the nation on the mathematics and science portions of the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
In 2009, President Barack Obama appointed Tenenbaum to serve as Chair of the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). In this role, Tenenbaum took bold and decisive action that transformed the CPSC into a global leader in consumer product safety, improving products made and used around the world, and ultimately preventing untold injuries and deaths. Tenenbaum’s efforts focused on a wide range of products, many of which were used by children and youth, such as cribs, toys, and childcare items.
“Find your mission in life and let it take you to many different venues. My mission has been enhancing the well being of children, women, and families. My career has taken me from an elementary school teacher to the Chair of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, and although the venues have changed, my mission has stayed constant.”
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