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Cleveland named Interim Alabama Education Superintendent
By WSFA 12 News Staff
MONTGOMERY, AL (WSFA) -The Alabama Department of Education voted Thursday to name Dr. Philip Cleveland as the new interim state superintendent.
Cleveland is currently the Deputy State Superintendent for Career and Technical Education/Workface Development, according to a biography provided by ALSDE. He manages the ALSDE career and technical education section, guidance and counseling program. He also focuses on other initiatives like preparing students for success after high school.
In the secondary education sector, Cleveland served as an Agriscience Education teacher, Career Technical Education Director and high school principal. He also served as the Vice President for Learning, and the Dean of Applied Technologies at Wallace State Community College. He also served as Interim Community College President of Chattahoochee Valley State Community College.
Huntsville's HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology will join a major new cancer-fighting effort led by one of Silicon Valley's most successful innovators. The institute will collaborate with the newly formed Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy established by billionaire Sean Parker, co-founder of Napster and first president of Facebook.
The Parker Institute will focus on the emerging field of cancer immunotherapy, which uses the body's own immune system to fight cancer cells. Six major cancer centers are leading the effort with collaboration from more than 300 scientists and 40-plus research centers, including HudsonAlpha.
"At the end of the day, I see this as a bold experiment to see if this type of collaboration can help move the field forward faster, and bring solutions to patients," said Parker, who is investing $250 million in the institute.
Stage three approval by the board authorizes the university to proceed with the design phase of the project, and follows last September's stage two approval that granted architect selection, project scope and project budget plans.
Williams Blackstock Architects of Birmingham and Robert A.M. Stern Architects of New York City will serve as the architects of record on this project.
