Rodney Earl Slater was born in Marianna, Lee County, Arkansas on February 23, 1955.
Slater graduated from Eastern Michigan University in 1977 with degrees in political science and communication. In 1980, he graduated from the University of Arkansas School of Law. He served as Arkansas's assistant attorney general from 1980–1982 and was appointed to the Arkansas Highway Commission in 1987. He became the first African American director of the Federal Highway Administration. Slater then served as United States Secretary of Transportation from 1997 to 2001.
In 2001 Slater joined the law firm of Patton Boggs LLP as a partner and in 2004 joined as a partner with James Lee Witt Associates. He also serves on several boards including the Dance Theatre of Harlem, Delta Air Lines, Inc., United Way, and Verizon Communications, Inc.
#1: Composite image of early photo of Rodney Slater and still frame from Pryor Center video interview
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#2: Rodney Slater, two years old
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#3: School photo of Rodney Slater, six years old
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#4: School photo of Rodney Slater, seven years old
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#5: School photo of Rodney Slater, eight years old
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#6: School photo of Rodney Slater, eleven years old
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#7: High school football photo of Rodney Slater
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#8: College photo of Rodney Slater
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#9: Rodney Slater in #2 Eastern Michigan University football uniform
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#10: Rodney Slater, Razorback yearbook, 1979
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#11: Law school photo of Rodney Slater
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#12: Rodney Slater with his wife, Cassandra, and their baby daughter
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#13: Rodney Slater with his wife, Cassandra, and their daughter
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#14: Rodney Slater taking the oath of office with his wife, daughter, and President Bill Clinton in the Oval Office
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#15: Formal photo of Rodney Slater
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#16: Rodney Slater and his family with the Clintons
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#17: Rodney Slater with his wife, daughter, and President Clinton on Air Force One
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#18: Rodney Slater with Rosa Parks, his daughter, Bridgette, and wife, Cassandra, at Christmas
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#19: Rodney Slater walking past the Color Guard at attention
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#20: Rodney Slater speaking on the steps of the Capitol
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#21: Rodney Slater with his daughter
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#22: Rodney Slater with his wife, Cassandra, and their daughter in the mountains
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#23: Rodney Slater with his daughter and wife on horseback
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#24: Rodney Slater with President Bill Clinton in the Oval Office
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#25: Rodney Slater with President Bill Clinton aboard Air Force One
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#26: Rodney Slater aboard an airplane with Vice President Al Gore
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#27: Rodney Slater at a Cabinet meeting with President Bill Clinton
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#28: Rev. Jesse Jackson and Rodney Slater on a plane en route to Zimbabwe
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#29: Rodney Slater greeting Nelson Mandela; Rev. Jesse Jackson is to the right of Mandela
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#30: Rodney Slater and George Haley on the tarmac with Air Force One in the background
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#31: Rodney Slater (left), Dexter Scott King, Vice President Al Gore, and Coretta Scott King on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, 1998
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#32: Rodney Slater (left) with Bill Clinton (right) and Rosa Parks (2nd from right)
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#33: Rodney Slater at a Selma, Alabama, remembrance event
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#34: Rodney Slater exiting Air Force One with President Bill Clinton, Richard Riley, and Mack McLarty
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#35: Rodney Slater with a young boy in school
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#36: Rodney Slater with Colin Powell (center) at the Department of Transportation
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#37: Rodney Slater with President Bill Clinton in front of the White House
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#38: Rodney Slater with President Bill Clinton, Madeleine Albright, Donna Shalala, Alexis Herman, Aida Alvarez
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#39: Rodney Slater with Vice President Al Gore during a speech on moving people from welfare to work
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#40: Rodney Slater with President Bill Clinton shooting basketball in a gymnasium
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#41: Rodney Slater with President Bill Clinton
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#42: Rodney Slater with Walter Cronkite and Paul Begala (far right)
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#43: Rodney Slater sitting at "Door of No Return" on Goree Island, Senegal
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#44: Rodney Slater with Chelsea and Bill Clinton during the presidential campaign, Arkansas
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#45: Rodney Slater with First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#46: Rodney Slater with First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and Maryland Lieutenant Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend at the Millennium Trails Event, 1998
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#47: Rodney Slater with Hillary Rodham Clinton
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#48: Silas Hunt Legacy Award portrait of Rodney Slater. 2006
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#49: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with Rodney Slater; Washington, DC, 2006
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
