Xerox Corporation

In 1971, Kearns joined Xerox Corporation as vice president. He also served as head of U.S./Marketing and Service at Xerox in Rochester, New York, and later as vice president of foreign markets in Stamford, Connecticut. In 1977, he became Xerox president and CEO. In 1985, Kearns succeeded Charles Peter McColough as chairman of Xerox.^[1]

U.S. Department of Education

Kearns was nominated by President George H. W. Bush as United States Deputy Secretary of Education on March 22, 1991. The United States Senate confirmed him for the position on May 31, 1991.

Following the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles, California, George H. W. Bush appointed Kearns as White House liaison to help resolve the conflict.^[2]

Later career

Kearns left the Department of Education on January 20, 1993. He later joined the faculty of Harvard University's Graduate School of Education where he taught for two years. Kearns has served on the board of trustees for the Ford Foundation, Time Warner, Dayton Hudson, and Ryder. He is also a former chairman of the National Urban League.^[1]

Kearns was Chairman of New American Schools, an organization dedicated to excellence in American schools. New American Schools has since merged with the American Institutes for Research.

The University of Rochester established the David T. Kearns Center for Leadership and Diversity in Science and Engineering to expand the pool of individuals who pursue undergraduate and graduate careers in the sciences and engineering.^[3]

Kearns published several books including: Winning the Brain Race: A Bold Plan to Make Our Schools Competitive (1988), Prophets in the Dark: How Xerox Reinvented Itself and Beat Back the Japanese (1992), A Legacy of Learning (1999) and Crossing the Bridge: Family, Business, Education, Cancer, and the Lessons Learned (2005).^[4]