ALBANY Carl T. Hayden, chairman emeritus of the New York State Board of Regents and a driving force behind successful initiatives to improve teaching, learning, and accountability in New York schools, will receive the prestigious Corning Award for Excellence for 2002.
The award, which is sponsored by Corning Incorporated, will be presented Wednesday, Sept. 18, at The Business Council's Annual Meeting at The Sagamore in Bolton Landing. The Council's Annual Meeting will run from Sept. 18-20.
The Business Council gives the award each year to a New Yorker who has shown outstanding accomplishment and a deep and sustaining commitment to the people of New York. The first Corning Award was presented in 1979.
This is the third consecutive year in which the Corning Award winner is known for achievements in education. Last year, the award was given to Roland W. Schmitt, president emeritus of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. In 2000, the award went to Richard P. Mills, commissioner of the state Department of Education, who worked closely with Hayden on efforts to improve schools in New York.
Hayden, an attorney in private practice in Elmira, was elected to the Board of Regents in 1990. He was chancellor of the Regents for seven years, retiring March. The Board of Regents includes 16 members elected by the state Legislature, one from each of New York's judicial districts and four at-large members. The Regents oversee education at all levels in New York, license and regulate 38 professions, govern the operations of libraries, archives, and museums, and oversee services for the disabled.
"Today, New York's schools are recognized world-wide for a commitment to getting better, for tougher academic standards that make improvement possible, and for holding schools, teachers, and students accountable for their performance," said Kirk Gregg, executive vice president and chief administrative officer at Corning Incorporated and a member of The Business Council's Board of Directors, who will present the award to Chancellor Emeritus Hayden.
"All of these very positive developments were made possible by the commitment and energy of Carl Hayden, and all of New York's students, teachers, parents, and business leaders are indebted."
"Good schools have long been a top priority of New York's business community because today's students are tomorrow's workers, managers, and entrepreneurs," said Business Council President Daniel B. Walsh. "By working to improve New York's schools, Carl Hayden has also given New York a better business climate."
After attending public schools in Cortland County, Hayden graduated from Hamilton College in 1963. After serving as an officer in the U.S. Navy, he graduated from Cornell Law School in 1970. He has been involved in a host of civic and volunteer activities in Elmira. He was a member of the Elmira City School District Board of Education from 1979-1983, and its president from 1981-83. He has received honorary degrees from Hamilton College, Elmira College, and the City University of New York.
After being elected to a seven-year term on the Board of Regents in 1990, he served as chair of its Committees on Quality and State Aid. His colleagues on the board elected him chancellor in 1995; he was re-elected to that office in 1998 and 2001. He stepped down as Chancellor when his term as a Regent expired.
In successfully promoting and advocating several historic initiatives, Hayden is widely credited with transforming the Board of Regents into a more active and effective body for shaping schools and school policy. These initiatives include:
- Tougher academic standards for all students.
- State-wide tests based on those standards.
- School report cards to help schools, teachers, parents, and students compare their schools' academic performance to schools in similar circumstances and to their own performance the previous year.
- Tougher intervention measures for under-performing schools.
- Intensified requirements for teacher certification.
- Increased attention to the "achievement gap" between New York's high-performing and low-performing schools.
Each was a top Council priority. For example, school report cards were strongly advocated by The Council after its research affiliate, The Public Policy Institute, used state data to develop and publish a prototype of a school report card.
The Corning Award is a magnificent piece of original Steuben Glass, handcrafted by masters in Corning, New York. Previous Corning Award recipients are: Roland W. Schmitt (2001); Richard P. Mills (2000); Erland E. Kailbourne (1999); Robert B. Wegman (1998); Judith S. Kaye (1997); John J. Phelan, Jr. (1996); Barber B. Conable, Jr., (1995); James W. Kinnear (1994); Muriel Siebert (1993); Hugh L. Carey (1992); David Harden (1991); Raymond T. Schuler (1990); Warren M. Anderson and Stanley Fink (1989); Edmund T. Pratt, Jr. (1988); James D. Robinson III (1987); Franklin A. Thomas (1986); Kitty Carlisle Hart (1985); Frank T. Cary (1984); Clifton Garvin (1983); David Rockefeller (1982); Richard R. Shinn (1981); Melvin C. Holm (1980); and Walter A. Fallon (1979).