caption district state_senate succeeded children party office preceded width birth_date term_start spouse image article_title term_end name alma_mater
tom center for law and public service at suffolk university on birmingham 30 january 2009 . at a roundtable organized by the rappaport middlesex , suffolk and essex massachusetts robert travaglini jarrett barrios erica , megan , and john democrat president of the massachusetts senate william m. bulger francis d. doris 250px 04 august 1949 january 1996 january 1991 selma botman tom_birmingham . jpg tom birmingham
 december 2002 december 2002 tom birmingham harvard , harvard law
tom birmingham

thomas francis birmingham -lrb- born august 4 , 1949 -rrb- is the former president of the massachusetts senate .
he is widely credited , along with mark roosevelt , with passage of a sweeping education bill , the education reform act of 1993 .
he is a graduate of austin preparatory school , phillips exeter academy , harvard college , and harvard law school , and he received a rhodes scholarship to study at oxford university after his 1972 graduation from harvard college .
he was an unsuccessful candidate for the democratic nomination for massachusetts governor in 2002 , despite impressive fundraising .
an avid cyclist , birmingham biked across the state of massachusetts in 2001 .
in 1999 , his proposal to keep the home stadium of the new england patriots in massachusetts was accepted by patriots owner robert kraft and passed by the state legislature .
birmingham served as senior counsel at the law firm of edwards wildman palmer , taught state and local government at tufts university and education policy at northeastern university in boston .
in march 2014 , he joined citizen schools massachusetts as executive director .
in early 2015 , he left citizen schools massachusetts to become a distinguished senior fellow in education at pioneer institute .
his is listed as a notable holder of the birmingham coat of arms .
his wife , selma botman , has a ph.d. in middle eastern studies from harvard university and served as the president of the university of southern maine .
they have two daughters , erica birmingham , a graduate of bates college and new york university -lrb- nutrition -rrb- and now a registered dietitian .
