26 Facts About Gaston Caperton

Gaston Caperton was president of the College Board, which administers the nationally recognized SAT and AP tests, from 1999 to 2012.

Gaston Caperton attended Dexter School, Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon.

Gaston Caperton soon became its principal owner and, under his watch, it became the tenth largest privately owned insurance brokerage firm in the nation.

Gaston Caperton won the primary over Pritt and then the general election, defeating West Virginia Secretary of Agriculture Cleve Benedict, the Republican nominee, and Pritt, who ran as a write-in candidate.

Gaston Caperton was constitutionally prohibited from running for a third consecutive term in 1996.

Gaston Caperton ended up supporting the Republican nominee, former Governor Cecil Underwood, against Pritt, which led to a party split and bad feelings among some in the state party.

Gaston Caperton raised taxes in an effort to improve West Virginia's finances, thereby reducing debts exceeding $500 million and creating a $100 million surplus.

Critics accused Gaston Caperton of failing to keep a campaign promise not to raise taxes, but defenders claimed that the previous governor had misstated the condition of the state's finances and failed to disclose the need for tax increases.

Publicly, Governor Gaston Caperton emphasized that education was his first priority.

Gaston Caperton supported a school-building program that led to $800 million in investments for 58 new schools and 780 school renovations, directly benefiting two-thirds of West Virginia's public school students.

Gaston Caperton encouraged the use of computers and technology in West Virginia public schools, resulting in the West Virginia Basic Skills Computer Program, which began with kindergarten and extended through sixth grade.

In 1996, West Virginia's advances in education technology gained national recognition when Gaston Caperton received the Computerworld Smithsonian Award.

Gaston Caperton was chairman of the Appalachian Regional Commission, Southern Regional Education Board, and the Southern Growth Policy Board.

Gaston Caperton has received numerous state and national awards and special recognition, including ten honorary doctoral degrees.

Gaston Caperton founded the Institute on Education and Government at Columbia University.

Gaston Caperton became President and CEO of the College Board on July 1,1999.

Since taking the helm of the College Board, Gaston Caperton has sought to enhance the standing and expand the reach of these two programs and to launch a series of initiatives.

Gaston Caperton expresses concern about unequal educational opportunity, and he led an effort to encourage students at middle schools to go to college, particularly the least advantaged.

Gaston Caperton's efforts prompted USA Today to label him an "education crusader".

In 2004, Gaston Caperton led a successful campaign to revise the SAT when the College Board's trustees requested changes to the test.

In 2012, Gaston Caperton wrote "The Achievable Dream: College Board Lessons on Creating Great Schools," a book that highlights specific lessons of educational success that can be replicated in schools across the country.

Gaston Caperton was reportedly among the top candidates to fill the remainder of the late Senator Robert Byrd's term.

Gaston Caperton is the Vice Chairman for Leeds Equity Partners, a New York-based Private Equity firm focused solely on education.

William Gaston Caperton III was born in Charleston, Kanawha County.

Gaston Caperton and his first wife, Ella Dee Caperton was born on Ella Kessel, Miss West Virginia 1964 and divorced in 1989 during his first term, and she later unsuccessfully ran for election for state treasurer.

In 2003, Gaston Caperton married his third wife, Israeli-American Idit Harel, an MIT PhD and Harvard EdM, education technology expert, mother of three, and founder and CEO of MaMaMedia and Globaloria.