 He became the president of the Milken Family Foundation's National Institute for Excellence in Teaching in 2005, and remained in this position until he died in 2007.At the time of his death, he was also a member of the advisory boards of both the California Governor's Committee on Education Excellence and the National Council on Teacher Quality.Soon after Solmon's death, then-California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger described him as "...an outstanding member of the committee" and as "...a great visionary and an extraordinary leader."