We at Digital Promise mourn the passing of Newton N. Minow, former chair of the Federal Communications Commission and the U.S. Public Broadcasting Service. In addition to being a monumental figure in mass media and fierce champion for public television, Mr. Minow played an instrumental role in the development of this organization.
In 1999, Mr. Minow and another powerful leader, Lawrence K. Grossman, along with several colleagues, began to push for the creation of a national center to harness the power of breakthrough technologies to serve the public interest in education. This national center ultimately became what we know today as Digital Promise.
We are endlessly grateful to Newton N. Minow for his vision and dedicated leadership, which formed our founding mission to spur innovation in education to improve opportunities to learn. As Digital Promise works to shape the future of learning and advance equitable education systems, we do so inspired by Mr. Minow’s vast contributions to our nation and anchored in the values that he embodied throughout his lifetime.
The education sector—not only Digital Promise—owes a great debt to Newton N. Minow. In the groundbreaking book “A Digital Gift to the Nation,” the late Lawrence K. Grossman and Mr. Minow offered recommendations to transform education for generations of Americans. Urging us to “dream big dreams about our digital future,” this bold outlook for learning and education continues to guide Digital Promise’s vision of every person engaging in powerful learning experiences that lead to a life of well-being, fulfillment, and economic mobility.
Mr. Minow’s impact has been enormous, and we extend our deepest sympathies to his family.
About