Bob Wise was named president of the Alliance for Excellent Education in February 2005. His passion for education and experience as a leader and successful coalition-builder is helping the Alliance ensure that every child becomes a high school graduate prepared for success. As governor of West Virginia from 2001-2005, Wise fought for and signed legislation to fund the PROMISE Scholarship Program, which helped thousands of West Virginia students remain in the Mountain State for college. Wise also established a character education curriculum in all state schools and created the Governor's Helpline for Safer Schools. During Wise's administration, West Virginia saw a significant increase in the number of students completing high school and entering college, and eighth graders' writing scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress had grown. In 2001, Wise proposed salary bonuses for teachers who achieve National Board Certification, which helped triple the rate of certified teachers in the state. And Education Week's 2004 Quality Counts report gave West Virginia its highest cumulative grade of all fifty states.