(FORTUNE Magazine) – Finally, some good news from the Department of Education: the nomination of Lamar Alexander, 50, as Secretary. The president of the University of Tennessee replaces Lauro F. Cavazos, whose two non-newsworthy years were viewed as a liability to George Bush, the self-described Education President. Says Keith Geiger, president of the National Education Association: ''There is no question that Alexander will keep education at the top of the agenda more than Cavazos did.'' As governor of Tennessee in the 1980s, Alexander campaigned for education reform. He persuaded voters to back a 1-cent sales tax increase to pay for a Better Schools program and overcame bitter opposition from the state's largest teachers' union to introduce a merit pay system. Says Colorado Governor Roy Romer, who heads the committee of governors charged with carrying out Bush's education agenda: ''Alexander's greatest asset is that he's been a governor. The action in education is at the state level. He has credibility.''

Alexander says he will try to make Americans aware of the nation's shortage of work force skills and how education can improve them. He will also urge business leaders to do ''anything'' to help create a more innovative, effective learning environment for children, at a reasonable cost. How? ''There's no McDonald's, cookie-cutter approach,'' he says. ''Just go to work on one school at a time in your own hometown.''