Topic: Joel Klein

Joel Irwin Klein (born October 25, 1946) is Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education, the largest public school system in the United States, serving more than 1.1 million students in more than 1,420 schools.

Prior to his appointment to Chancellor in 2002 by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Klein was Counsel to Bertelsmann and served as United States Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. In this capacity, he was the lead prosecutor in the antitrust case United States v. Microsoft. Before heading the Antitrust Division, Klein was the deputy to Anne Bingaman (the wife of Senator Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico) in that office, and worked in the White House Counsel's office. He was in private practice for many years, specializing in appellate cases. Klein received his B.A. from Columbia and his J.D. from Harvard Law School. He served as a clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell. Klein is married to Nicole Seligman, General Counsel to Howard Stringer of Sony Corp. Seligman represented former President Bill Clinton during impeachment proceedings in the United States Senate. Klein is rumored to aspire to succeed Bloomberg as Mayor of the City of New York.

Klein delivered the keynote address at Columbia College’s 2008 Class Day on May 19. He also gave the 2008 commencement speech for the Georgetown University Law Center on May 18.