Louisville Congressman Delivers: A Digital Gift to the Nation
By Lawrence K. Grossman, Newton N. Minow & Anne G. Murphy
In the new knowledge-based global economy, America's prosperity and, indeed, its economic future depend more than ever on the skills, ideas and knowledge of all its citizens. Business and government leaders have come to recognize that the people's access to learning and training across a lifetime must move to the top of the nation's priorities. Our people must be equipped with the skills to compete in the 21st century.
Yet, in the words of John Chambers, chairman of the high tech corporation Cisco Systems, "For many years, our national commitment to education - particularly in the areas of math and science - has lagged behind what is needed to maintain and expand our global leadership ...we must provide today's students with the tools and the thinking that are required for the future."
In response to that compelling need, Louisville's first term congressman John Yarmuth spearheaded landmark legislation, passed by Congress on July 31, that has the potential to transform education and skills training for the digital age, a remarkable accomplishment for a freshman legislator. Late last year, Rep. Yarmuth started the ball rolling by introducing a bill in the House to establish the National Center for Research in Advanced Information and Digital Technologies, an independent, nonprofit entity reporting to Congress through the Secretary of Education, run by its own distinguished nine person board of directors.
After its passage by both the Senate and House as a pilot project in the federal Higher Education Act, the bill was signed into law by the President on August 14th. The new national research center will finance basic and applied research, development and demonstration of advanced information technologies to improve the quality and reach of America's education, training, and lifelong learning. Modeled on the highly respected National Science Foundation, the National Center is designed to do for education what NSF does for science, the National Institutes of Health for medicine, and the Defense Department's research arm, DARPA, for national security. The Center will work with America's schools, universities, museums, libraries, and public broadcasters as well as the corporate sector, to undertake vitally needed educational research and development.
In 2001, two authors of this article, Larry Grossman and Newton Minow published a study that had been commissioned by five of the nation's leading foundations. We called it, "A Digital Gift to the Nation -- Fulfilling the Promise of the Digital and Internet Age." The study pointed out that while advanced information technology was revolutionizing so many other areas of our society, with few exceptions the new information technologies had yet to make a significant impact on U.S. education, learning and training. We are falling far behind other nations in this area. In 2003, we submitted a Report to Congress urging passage of legislation to remedy that deficiency. Kentucky's Rep. Yarmuth and his staff responded to the call. Thanks to the the dedicated leadership of the congressman and his staff, and to the overwhelming support of his House and Senate colleagues on both sides of the aisle, this nation will have a national research center to propel education, learning and training into the 21st century. Credit John Yarmuth with providing a great new digital gift to the nation.
Mr. Grossman, former president of NBC News and PBS, Mr. Minow, former chairman of the FCC and PBS, and Murphy, former president of the American Arts Alliance, are co-chairs of the Digital Promise Project, sponsored by the Carnegie, Century, Knight and MacArthur foundations and the Open Society Institute.
8/26/08
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