Staff Director
Kenneth L. Marcus
Staff Director
Kenneth L. Marcus is the Staff Director of the United States Commission on Civil Rights. Appointed by the President of the United States with the concurrence of the Commission, Mr. Marcus is an experienced civil rights attorney, litigator, and leader. As Staff Director, he serves as the agency’s chief executive officer, responsible for providing leadership and direction to the agency’s staff. In this position, Mr. Marcus continues his long-time work of combating discrimination and working on behalf of those who have been denied basic constitutional and civil rights. At the Commission, Mr. Marcus has supervised the preparation of numerous civil rights publications, including Campus Anti-Semitism (2006), Voting Rights Reauthorization and Enforcement (2006), Disparity Studies as Evidence of Discrimination in Federal Contracting (2006), Reauthorization of the Temporary Provisions of the Voting Rights Act (2006), The Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act of 2005 (2006), Federal Procurement After Adarand (2005), Funding Federal Civil Rights Enforcement (2005), and The Economic Stagnation of the Black Middle Class (2005).
Before assuming his current duties, Mr. Marcus was delegated the authority of Assistant Secretary of Education for Civil Rights and served simultaneously as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Education for Enforcement. As head of the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), Mr. Marcus was the principal civil rights advisor to the U.S. Secretary of Education and oversaw the resolution of approximately 5,000 civil rights cases per year through OCR’s twelve enforcement offices. Under his leadership, OCR developed and implemented proactive enforcement initiatives regarding misidentification of racial and ethnic minorities in special education; equal educational opportunities for English language learners; and campus accessibility for college students with disabilities. During this time, OCR also issued policy guidance in several areas, including important new directives regarding anti-Semitic and anti-Sikh harassment and the Boy Scouts’ Act. Additionally, OCR published a path-breaking report on Achieving Diversity: Race-Neutral Alternatives in American Education (2004). Mr. Marcus also served as a Commissioner on the U.S. Commission on Brown v. Board of Education.
Prior to joining the Department of Education, Mr. Marcus served in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as the General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. As head of HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO), Mr. Marcus was the principal civil rights advisor to the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and oversaw the work of FHEO’s 54 offices. As HUD’s civil rights chief, Mr. Marcus developed initiatives regarding predatory lending, post-9/11 harassment, and targeted housing discrimination. He also oversaw HUD’s Office of Departmental Equal Employment Opportunity and its Section 3 program office.
Before entering public service, Mr. Marcus served as a litigation partner in two major law firms. In the courtroom, he was known for his successful representation of individuals who had been denied constitutional and civil rights, including rights protected under the First Amendment.
Mr. Marcus is a graduate of Williams College, magna cum laude, and the University of California at Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall). He and his wife and daughter live in Leesburg, Virginia.