News Release
at The Chicago Public Education Fund
Amy L. Kruss, Director of Development & Communications
(312) 558-4503

April 24, 2007


The Chicago Public Education Fund welcomes State Farm Chairman and CEO, Edward B. Rust, Jr., as newest member of board of directors

CHICAGO-The Chicago Public Education Fund elected State Farm Chairman and CEO, Edward B. Rust, Jr., to its board of directors today.

“We are delighted to have Ed on our board,” said The Fund’s Founding President, Janet Knupp. “We know that he will provide an invaluable amount of strategic and operating management assistance to our organization and portfolio programs.”

“Furthermore, both State Farm and Ed, personally, are deeply committed to public education, Ed brings a profound level of education knowledge and understanding to The Fund and we are privileged to count him among our directors," said Tim Schwertfeger, Fund Chairman and Chairman and CEO of Nuveen Investments.

In addition to his role at State Farm, Mr. Rust currently serves on the No Child Left Behind Commission, a bi-partisan, independent group established to make recommendations to Congress and the Bush Administration. He is former Chairman of the Business Higher Education Forum, former Chairman of The Business Roundtable's Education Initiative, and a director of the National Center for Educational Accountability, and served on the National Commission on Mathematics and Science Teaching for the 21st Century.

Additionally, Mr. Rust is Co-Chair of The Business Roundtable, Chairman Emeritus of the Illinois Business Roundtable, and a member of The Business Council. He graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University and received both a J.D. and an M.B.A from Southern Methodist University.

Mr. Rust joins a board of directors comprised of 26 of Chicago’s highest-profile corporate and civic leaders. The Fund’s directors commit significant amounts of time, energy and financial resources to the improvement of Chicago’s public schools.

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As a venture capital fund for public education, The Chicago Public Education Fund is an unprecedented catalyst for improving school leadership and student achievement system wide. Launched by a group of corporate and civic leaders, The Fund brings private sector dollars and expertise to high-impact programs aligned with Chicago Public Schools priorities. Find out more at www.cpef.org.

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