Joseph Anthony Fernandez was the

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of the

New York City Board of Education The Panel for Educational Policy of the Department of Education of the City School District of the City of New York, abbreviated as the Panel for Educational Policy and also known as the New York City Board of Education, is the governing body of ...

, "the nation's largest school," 1990–1993.

Early life and education

Fernandez was born in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

, grew up there, joined the U.S. Air Force, and "earned a high school equivalency diploma;" he then went to Columbia University. Before graduating, he and his wife moved to Florida to alleviate a son's health problem. Fernandez transferred to and graduated from

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

Career

Florida

Fernandez began his teaching career in 1963 in Florida. He eventually reached "superintendent of schools in Miami" ("head of the schools in Dade County, Florida"), a position he held for two years prior to coming to New York City.

New York City

Fernandez had a "stormy three-and-a-half-year tenure as one of the highest-paid school officials in the country." Fernandez's support of the 1991 Rainbow Curriculum for first grade multicultural education, and his support of AIDS education in public schools, were controversies that led to his contract not being renewed in 1993. His successor was the city's "sixth schools chancellor in a decade." His suspending of an entire school board in

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

was reversed by the city's ''Board of Education''.

Back to Florida

Following the end of his position in New York City, Fernandez and his wife moved back to Florida.

Personal

Fernandez is "a native New Yorker" who spent "a quarter of a century in Miami." His wife's name is Lily; they have four children. The son with the health problem benefited from the move to Florida.

References

1935 births University of Miami alumni Living people Columbia University alumni {{US-bio-stub