Mayor Michael Bloomberg has announced that magazine magnate Cathleen Black will be the next Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education. She replaces Joel Klein, who held the position for eight years before announcing his departure for News Corp. on Tuesday afternoon.

Originally from Chicago, Black earned a degree from Trinity College in Washington, DC before moving to New York City to pursue a career in publishing. She has been called “The First Lady of American Magazines,” and boasts an impressive resume of creative and leadership roles in the business. In 1979, she became the first female publisher of New York magazine, and in the 1980s she acted as president and publisher of USA Today. She has also served as president and CEO of the Newspaper Association of America and most recently as the chairman of Hearst Magazines, which publishes Cosmopolitan, O, Esquire, and Good Housekeeping.

For her new job as Chancellor, Black emphasized the need to refocus the district's curriculum to make it more relevant to work and higher education. "We need to form new partnerships with business, nonprofits and universities to more closely align our curriculum to connect our kids to colleges and careers," she said.

Mayor Bloomberg has said that he was looking for a “world-class manager” to head up the Department of Education. He hopes to have found that in Cathie Black. As Chancellor, she will oversee more than 1,600 schools, 1.1 million students, 136,000 employees and a $21 billion operating budget.