Who is Roderick Paige?
Dr. Roderick Raynor Paige was born on June 17, 1933, in Monticello, Mississippi. The eldest of five children, Paige was born to his mother Sophie, a librarian, and father, Raynor C. Paige—a school principal and barber. In 1951, Paige graduated from high school and enrolled at Jackson State College in Jackson, Mississippi. He was an honor student and football player there. In 1955, after he graduated with a B.A. in physical education. Paige received his master’s (1962) and Ph.D. (1970) in Physical Education from the IU School of Public Health—formerly known as Health, Physical Education & Recreation (HPER). On January 24, 2001, Dr. Paige was sworn in as the United States Secretary of Education.