Terrel Howard Bell (November 11, 1921June 22, 1996) was the

Secretary of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

in the Cabinet of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Ronald Reagan. He was the second Secretary of Education, following

Shirley Hufstedler Shirley Ann Mount Hufstedler (August 24, 1925 – March 30, 2016) was an American attorney and judge who served as the first United States secretary of education from 1979 to 1981. She previously served as a United States circuit judge of the Uni ...

Early life and career

Bell was born in Lava Hot Springs, Idaho, on November 11, 1921; at age eight, his father died. Bell graduated from Lava Hot Springs High School and the Albion State Normal School in 1946. After this he served as a school superintendent of various schools in Idaho and

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the s ...

. Bell spent much of his professional career in

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

. He served as a sergeant in the

Marine Corps Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refl ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and returned to Idaho to get his education. After earning a B.A. in Albion in 1946, Bell started a career as a high school teacher and bus driver. He earned an M.A. from the

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho. It is the state's land-grant and primary research university,, and the lead university in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The Universit ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

in 1954, and a Ph.D. in education from the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

in 1961. Bell also served as Utah's Commissioner of Higher Education and the superintendent of Weber School District in Utah from 1958 to 1962.

National Commissioner of Education

Bell served as the

United States Commissioner of Education The Commissioner of Education was the title given to the head of the federal Office of Education, which was historically a unit within and originally assigned to the Department of the Interior in the United States. The position was created on March ...

(prior to the creation of the cabinet position) under Presidents

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

and Gerald Ford from 1974 to 1976.

U.S. Secretary of Education

Appointed to the Reagan cabinet in 1981, Bell was expected to preside over the dismantling of the

Department of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

, but he ran into the legal requirement that such a dismantling required legislation. He was well-known, admired, and respected in education circles, having risen from high school teacher through college professor to administrative positions. Bell stood out as a humble man in an administration of moneyed people—he drove a

U-Haul U-Haul is an American moving truck, trailer, and self-storage rental company, based in Phoenix, Arizona, that has been in operation since 1945. The company was founded by Leonard Shoen in Ridgefield, Washington, who began it in the garage ...

truck from Utah to

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

when he moved, as political appointees did not get reimbursed for moving expenses. In 1981, Bell convinced Reagan to appoint a commission to study excellence in education. The 1983 report of the National Commission on Excellence in Education, titled ''

A Nation at Risk ''A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform'' is the 1983 report of the United States National Commission on Excellence in Education. Its publication is considered a landmark event in modern American educational history. Among oth ...

'', started the drive for education reform with its conclusions, which included the claim that the nation was threatened by "a rising tide of mediocrity."

Resignation and later life

Though education's importance was highlighted by the reform drive, Reagan continued to try to reduce funding at the

. Bell served for Reagan's first term, resigning effective December 31, 1984. Bell was succeeded by Bill Bennett and returned to Salt Lake City to join the faculty at the University of Utah. In 1988, he published his memoir entitled ''The Thirteenth Man: A Reagan Cabinet Memoir''. Bell published seven other books during his career, covering topics such as improving child intellectual development and reforming the educational process. His last book in 1993, written with his business partner Dr. Donna Elmquist at his nonprofit company T.H. Bell and Associates in Salt Lake City, made new recommendations for improving the US education system. "There are three things to emphasize in teaching: The first is motivation, the second is motivation, and the third is (you guessed it) motivation." Terrel H. Bell, U.S. Secretary of Education, 1981–1985 (Bell, 1995) Bell was inducted into Idaho's Hall of Fame in 1987.

Personal

Bell married Betty Ruth Fitzgerald in 1957, and they had four sons: Mark F., Warren T., Glenn M., and Peter F. Bell.

Death

Bell died in his sleep at age 74 of

pulmonary fibrosis Pulmonary fibrosis is a condition in which the lungs become scarred over time. Symptoms include shortness of breath, a dry cough, feeling tired, weight loss, and nail clubbing. Complications may include pulmonary hypertension, respiratory failu ...

at his home in Salt Lake City he is interred in Larkin Sunset Gardens in

Sandy, Utah Sandy is a city in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, located in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. The population of Sandy was 87,461 at the 2010 census, making it the sixth-largest city in Utah. The population is currently estimated ...

Terrel H. Bell Award

The Department of Education gives an award named after Bell to recognize "outstanding school leaders and the vital role they play in overcoming challenging circumstances." On November 3, 2009, the award was given to eight U.S. public school principals. Concurrent with the award, the department issued a press release which stated, "The late Secretary Terrel H. Bell held education as his highest priority, trusting that all students would find it their personal key to success as he had."

References

* * ''The World Almanac 1997'', Obituaries, p. 74.

External links

Nomination as Secretary of EducationUniversity of Utah
– Terrel Bell * * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Terrel H. 1921 births 1996 deaths Latter Day Saints from Idaho United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II Respiratory disease deaths in Utah Deaths from pulmonary fibrosis People from Bannock County, Idaho Reagan administration cabinet members 20th-century American politicians United States Marines United States Secretaries of Education University of Idaho alumni University of Utah alumni University of Utah faculty Latter Day Saints from Utah