A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

"Art has been instrumental in OCR's policy initiatives, as well as in our successful efforts to more efficiently and effectively serve the public," said Norma V. Cantu, assistant secretary for civil rights.

Coleman, 38, has served as the senior policy advisor to the assistant secretary for civil rights for three and one half years. He was instrumental in helping promulgate national policies in the area of sexual harassment, affirmative action related to race targeted scholarships, and gender equity in the area of intercollegiate athletics.

He was an honors graduate of the University of Virginia (Phi Beta Kappa) in 1981 and an honors graduate of Duke University School of Law in 1984.

Prior to joining the Department of Education in 1993, he was a partner in the law firm of Nelson, Mullins, Riley and Scarborough, in Columbia, S. C., where he specialized in municipal, constitutional and education law. From 1988 to 1991 he was an adjunct professor of constitutional law at the University of South Carolina School of Law. He has been an adjunct professor of education law at the American University Washington College of Law since 1996.

As deputy assistant secretary, Coleman works with the assistant secretary and deputy assistant secretary Raymond C. Pierce to ensure that schools and school districts comply with the civil rights laws.

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