Former U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos will discuss learning and the state of the education system on Monday at 4 p.m. as part of the Drummond Lecture series in Christ Chapel. 

“Betsy DeVos was a champion of choice in education long before she became the U. S. Secretary of Education,” Chair of the Education Department Dan Coupland said. “As secretary, she challenged the dogma of the education establishment, and its leaders vilified her for it. Regardless, she has steadfastly stood on the side of students and their families.”

The Drummond Lecture series is designed to address matters of faith, learning, and current events, according to Associate Vice President for Curriculum David Whalen.

DeVos will touch on her recent book, “Hostages No More: The Fight for Education Freedom and the Future of the American Child,” which covers critical race theory in education, COVID-19 pandemic school lockdowns, and how to fix America’s schools. 

Before serving as education secretary for the Trump administration, the Michigan native advocated for school choice, charter schools, and free speech on campuses.

In 1989, she and her husband founded the Dick and Betsy DeVos Family Foundation, which donated to charter and Christian schools, organizations supporting school choice, and various universities and arts foundations. She and her husband, Dick, started All Children Matter in 2003 in support of voucher programs. In 2010, she helped found the school choice advocacy organization American Federation for Children. 

Whalen said DeVos was chosen as a speaker because of her long-time dedication to faith and learning. DeVos last spoke on Hillsdale’s campus in October 2020. 

“Well before her years of service as secretary of education, she worked to liberate the education of children from the choke-hold of self-interested bureaucracies and to promote the rights of parents,” Whalen said. “She is expert and tireless in these things. Moreover, she has always identified her faith as the bedrock of all her efforts. All of this makes her an ideal speaker for these lectures.”