SREB History
History
The Southern Regional Education Board
SREB was created in 1948 by Southern governors and legislators who recognized the link between education and economic vitality.
SREB Celebrates 75 Years
Yesterday's Dream, Today's Reality, Tomorrow's Vision
June 2023
75 years ago, a group of governors and state lawmakers united to form an interstate compact dedicated to working together to improve education throughout the South. That idea became the Southern Regional Education Board of 16 states. This is our story.
Chairs of the Southern Regional Education Board
1949 to present
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, 2023-2024
West Virginia Governor Jim Justice, 2022-2023
Delaware Governor John Carney, Delaware, 2020-2022
Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, 2019-2020
Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards, 2016-2019
SREB Presidents
| John E. Ivy Jr. | Director | 1948-1957 |
| Robert C. Anderson | Director | 1957-1961 |
| Winfred L. Godwin | President | 1961-1989 |
| Mark D. Musick | President | 1989-2005 |
| David S. Spence | President | 2005-2018 |
| Stephen L. Pruitt | President | 2018- |
65 Years:
Helping States Improve Education
This timeline report highlights SREB achievements since its founding in 1948 as the nation’s first regional compact for education. Several efforts have influenced national reform, and SREB states now lead the nation in many measures of educational progress. A list of SREB chairs is included.
The Product of Commitment and Character
Dave Spence's 50-year career leaves a lasting impact on education
On the occasion of his retirement as president of SREB, a look back at Dave Spence’s half century of leadership in education. His contributions include a decades-long focus on college readiness and 10 SREB commissions on issues ranging from early childhood to college completion.
A Path and a Purpose
Gene Bottoms' Career in What Works in Schools
After a 60-year career in education, Gene Bottoms, senior vice president of SREB, retired in April 2018. His contributions to education in the southern region and beyond are difficult to overestimate. In 31 years with SREB, Bottoms helped revamp career education in America and set in place school improvement practices that have improved the prospects of hundreds of thousands of students.
