The state Board of Regents yesterday appointed John King Jr., who has served as deputy commissioner since September 2009, as the new state education commissioner.
The move makes King (pictured) the first African-American and first Puerto Rican education commissioner in New York, as well as its youngest, at 36.
It comes after a six-member transition committee recommended after just one meeting to forgo a national search and instead promote someone from within.
“We need to maintain continuity in this commissioner’s position,” Regent James Dawson told board members shortly before the vote. “We need to move forward with somebody who knows our agenda, somebody we know who supports our agenda, and someone we know who commands the respect of the staff in this institution.”
King has degrees from Harvard, Yale and Columbia. He’s scheduled to take over on July 15, at an annual salary of $212,000.