Moseley-Braun Gets Education Department Appointment

Black Issues in Higher Education, Jan 21, 1999

WASHINGTON -- Carol Moseley-Braun, the former senator from Illinois who was defeated in last year's election, was appointed earlier this month as a consultant to the U.S. Dept. of Education.

According to Education Secretary Richard W. Riley, Moseley-Braun will be responsible for outreach efforts on school construction issues in the department's Office of Intergovernmental and Interagency Affairs. She had persuaded President Bill Clinton to make school construction a major issue for his second term. The part-time position is based here in the nation's capital.

Moseley-Braun, a one-term senator who was defeated by Republican Peter Fitzgerald, was previously approached by the White House about possibly becoming the ambassador to New Zealand. But sources told The Chicago Tribune that by staying in the country, Moseley-Braun "could make between $10,000 and $15,000 a speech" on the lecture circuit.

"This job keeps her in the country and is temporary in nature while she waits for her other options to gel," the source says. "I don't really think she wanted to go halfway around the world."