William V. Corr, ’73, has been selected by President-elect Barack Obama to be the No. 2 official at the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Corr currently serves as executive director of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a nonprofit group that seeks to reduce tobacco use among children and adults. He has served as a member of the Obama transition team, leading efforts to review and evaluate the work of the DHHS.
If confirmed by the Senate, Corr will serve as deputy secretary of the DHHS under Tom Daschle, who is the president-elect’s nominee to head the department. Corr worked as chief counsel and policy director for Senator Daschle from 1998 to 2000, when Daschle was Senate minority leader. Corr also served as chief of staff at the DHHS during the Clinton Administration, working for Secretary Donna E. Shalala.
"Corr has extensive management and healthcare policy experience both in Congress and at the Department of Health and Human Services," Obama’s office said.
Before joining Senator Daschle’s staff, Corr worked for Senator Howard Metzenbaum of Ohio, who was chairman of the antitrust subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee, and for Representative Henry Waxman of California, who was chairman of the health subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee.
Before coming to Washington, Corr worked at several community-run primary health care centers in Appalachia. He earned his a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Virginia before earning his law degree at Vanderbilt.
“Reforming our health care system will be a top priority of my administration and key to putting our economy back on track,” Mr. Obama said when announcing Corr’s appointment on Tuesday, January 13. “Under the leadership of Tom Daschle and Bill Corr, I am confident that my Department of Health and Human Services will bring people together to reach consensus on how to move forward with health care reform.”