Washington--Harry M. Singleton has resigned as assistant secretary of education for civil rights, the Education Department announced last week.
Mr. Singleton, whose performance as the department’s chief civil-rights officer came under sharp attack in recent Congressional oversight hearings, had been head of ocr since May 1982, longer than any other director in the office’s history. His resignation will take effect Dec. 31.
The office--the department’s largest branch, with more than 900 employees nationwide--is responsible for enforcing federal laws prohibiting discrimination in schools and colleges.
In a statement announcing Mr. Singleton’s resignation, Secretary of Education William J. Bennett said:
“Harry Singleton brought much-needed management and policy direction to ocr He has vigorously enforced the nation’s civil-rights laws and contributed substantially to the goal of desegregation while rejecting unjustified reliance on numerical goals and quotas. Harry is a first-rate manager and has been a highly valued member of my senior staff. He will be missed.”
Mr. Singleton plans to do consulting work in the Washington area.
Hours before announcing Mr. Singleton’s resignation, Mr. Bennett also announced the appointment of Alicia Coro to be deputy assistant secretary for operations in ocr
Ms. Coro had been director of the department’s Horace Mann Learning Center, which provided continuing education for agency employees.--jh