SUNY appoints former state Education Commissioner John King as new chancellor; came under fire over Common Core

Key Facts

The state’s public university system is appointing John King as its next schools boss — a veteran educator who has earned both praise and criticism over his advocacy for Common Core educational standards.
The State University of New York tapped King as chancellor on Monday to oversee the system’s 64 colleges and universities and roughly 1.3 million students.
He will earn $750,000 a year in the new role.
King served as the New York State education commissioner from 2011 to 2014, before joining the Obama administration as education secretary during the former president’s second term — and his appointment as SUNY chancellor immediately drew criticism from skeptics of standardized tests.