Verne Duncan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theOregon Senate from the 20th district | |
| In office 1997–2003 | |
| Preceded by | Bill Kennemer |
| Succeeded by | Kurt Schrader |
| Oregon Superintendent of Public Instruction | |
| In office 1975–1989 | |
| Governor | Robert W. Straub Victor Atiyeh Neil Goldschmidt |
| Preceded by | Jesse Fassold |
| Succeeded by | John Erickson |
| Member of theIdaho House of Representatives fromButte County | |
| In office 1962–1965 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Verne Allen Duncan (1934-04-06)April 6, 1934 (age 91) |
| Party | Republican. Independent since 2022 |
| Spouse(s) | Donna Nichols Duncan, (1937-2018) |
| Children | Annette Kirk, Christine Didway |
| Residence | Milwaukie, Oregon |
| Education | Idaho State university (BA) University of Idaho (MEd) University of Oregon (PhD) University of Portland (MBA) |
| Occupation | Educator, Politician |
Verne Allen Duncan (born April 6, 1934) is an American politician from thestate ofOregon. As an educator and moderateRepublican, he has become outspoken in protest of policies of his own party he views as extreme.[1]
A former classroom teacher, principal, district superintendent and professor, Duncan has served in the legislatures of two states,Idaho and Oregon, held the office ofOregon Superintendent of Public Instruction, and served as a university dean.
Born and raised inMcMinnville, Duncan is a member of a pioneer Oregon family.[2] His grandfather, S.S. Duncan, had been a teacher and for many years was superintendent of schools forYamhill County.[2] His uncle was Leland Duncan, long-time district attorney ofHarney County, Oregon.[3]
As a schoolboy, Duncan had occasion to visit the stateDepartment of Education on a class trip. When he needed a workspace on which to take down some notes, then-superintendentRex Putnam rose from his desk and offered it to the young Duncan. Neither knew the boy would grow up to occupy that desk for fifteen years as superintendent himself.[3]
After completing a public school education, including graduation fromMcMinnville High School, he attended Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon. Duncan served in theUnited States Army, remaining active in the reserves, ultimately attaining the rank ofcolonel. Duncan graduated fromIdaho State College, earning aB.A. in 1960, and began a long career in education. He would ultimately earn several graduate degrees, including anM.Ed. in Education Administration from theUniversity of Idaho, aPhD in Public School Administration from theUniversity of Oregon and anM.B.A. in Labor Management from theUniversity of Portland.[4]
Duncan began his teaching career in the Butte County Public Schools inArco, Idaho, in 1954. He subsequently became a principal and later the superintendent of schools. Before serving as superintendent, he was elected to thestate legislature, serving from 1962 to 1965. He then completed his Ph.D. at the University of Oregon and after a short interim on the faculty at the University became the Superintendent of Schools of the Clackamas County Intermediate Education District. In 1974, he was elected State Superintendent of Schools. After his four-term tenure as Oregon's Superintendent of Public Instruction, Duncan returned to teaching in 1990, serving as dean of the University of Portland’s School of Education until 1996, when he took emeritus professor status.[4] He was appointed the following year by GovernorKitzhaber to fill a vacancy in theOregon State Senate, and was elected to serve a full four-year term in 1998 after defeatingMonroe Sweetland in the November election.[3][4]
As a politician, Duncan took positions which placed him in the progressive or moderate wing of theOregon Republican Party, as were many of his immediate predecessors and contemporaries, including the likes ofTom McCall,Clay Myers,Bob Packwood andMark Hatfield. He supported the creation ofMetro, voted for Governor Kitzhaber's transportation package, and was on record aspro-choice and in favor of nondiscrimination laws for gays, promptingWillamette Week to characterize him as "a moderate's moderate," in its 1998 editorial endorsement.[5]
In a 2000 interview withThe Oregonian, Duncan admitted to having voted personally for both Republican and Democratic presidential candidates, refusing to give particulars, but indicating that he was an enthusiastic supporter ofGeorge H. W. Bush but nothis son. He also told the reporter that the Republicans must become more inclusive and less extreme. "Sometimes it doesn't hurt to lose," he said. "It keeps you humble."[1]
In 2008, theNorth Clackamas School District named a new elementary school in Duncan's honor. Duncan lives inOak Grove, within the District, and had served as district superintendent.[6][7]