By Kevin McCauley
Cathie Black, the former Hearst Corp. executive hand-picked by New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg to run the nation’s largest school system, is being replaced.
"The First Lady of Magazines" succeeded Joel Klein, who now is a top aide to Rupert Murdoch on educational businesses. She was the first woman head of the 1.1M student system.
Her appointment met with a storm of opposition from parents and public school administrators who were stunned that a non-educator was given the chancellor spot.
Deputy chancellor John White, who was in charge of teacher effectiveness, classroom innovation and labor policy, announced yesterday that he is leaving to head the New Orleans system. He is the fourth top educator to exit since Black was took the job three months ago. Her approval rating is below the 20 percent mark, according to a Quinnipiac poll.
Bloomberg touted Black’s business-savvy in giving her the post. He lauded her as a "great New Yorker" and a person who is "brilliant, innovative and driven."
Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott, who advises Bloomberg on educational issues, is Black’s replacement.
At Hearst, Black was responsible for 2,000 staffers working at titles such as Cosmopolitan, Town & Country, Esquire, Marie Claire, Good Housekeeping, Popular Mechanics, Harper’s Bazaar and Redbook.
Earlier, she was president and publisher of USA Today and executive VP at its parent company, Gannett.
Black served as president & CEO of the Newspaper Assn. of America and was the first woman to head a major weekly magazine when she became publisher of New York in 1979.
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