James Fallows

Eric Schmidt in San Jose Mercury News | Google CEO Will Take New America Foundation's Helm

Communications — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 07:35:00 -0500

Google CEO Will Take New America Foundation's Helm (San Jose Mercury News)

Google Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt has been named to be the next chairman of the New America Foundation, which researches issues such as health care and education.

Schmidt will become chairman June 1, the foundation said Thursday in a statement. He succeeds James Fallows, a writer for the Atlantic Monthly magazine and former speechwriter for President Jimmy Carter.

Schmidt will help the organization as the endowment and staff grow, Steve Coll, the foundation's CEO, said in an interview. Other board members include Quadrangle Group principal Steven Rattner and Fareed Zakaria, editor of Newsweek International. more

New America on CNET | Google's Schmidt named chair of think tank

Communications — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 17:58:00 -0500

Google's Schmidt named chair of think tank (CNET)

Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt has been named as chairman of the board to the New America Foundation, a non-partisan think tank in Washington, D.C. that focuses on issues like healthcare, education and foreign policy.

Schmidt joined the board 10 years ago when the centrist think tank was founded and before he joined Google. He will assume his new role June 1... more

Eric Schmidt in The Associated Press | Google CEO Named Chairman of Think Tank

Communications — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 17:49:00 -0500

Google CEO Named Chairman of Think Tank (The Associated Press)

Eric Schmidt, the chairman and chief executive of the world's largest search engine, needs to update his profile on the company Web site.

If he doesn't, his new chairmanship at the New America Foundation won't show up if Schmidt Googles himself.

On Thursday, the Google chairman and CEO became chairman of the Washington think tank whose various issues include telecommunications and technology policy.

His unpaid position will be effective June 1.

The first chairman for Google Inc. when he joined in 2001, Schmidt will be the think tank's second since it began in 1999. He's been on the think tank's board since its inception. He follows James Fallows, a national correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly magazine. Fallows will remain on the board.

Schmidt's election also follows the September arrival of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Steve Coll as the president and chief executive of New America, which has a $13.5 million annual budget, 75 staff members and 25 fellows. The group's policy issues also include economic growth, foreign policy and trade, among others. ... more

--This article appeared online in BusinessWeek, Forbes, Conde Nast Portfolio, CNN Money, The… more

Eric Schmidt in Chronicle of Philanthropy | Google CEO Named Chairman of New America Board

Communications — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 17:41:00 -0500

Google CEO Named Chairman of New America Board (Chronicle of Philanthropy)

Eric Schmidt, chairman and chief executive officer of Google, will become the chairman of the New America Foundation’s Board of Directors on June 1, the group announced. He plans to mark his new role by making an an unrestricted $1-million donation to the group.

Mr. Schmidt has served on the foundation’s board since its founding in 1999, but he has not been as actively involved in philanthropy as many of his fellow billionaires.

He says he was attracted to the group from the beginning because “they would try to do things that were unconventional. They were like Google, but before Google existed.”

Even when he disagreed with work produced by the scholars and journalist at the foundation, he says, he still found the work worthwhile and provocative. more

Google CEO Eric Schmidt Appointed as Chairman of New America Foundation's Board of Directors

Communications — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 01:16:00 -0500

The New America Foundation, a nonpartisan ten-year-old think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C., announced today the appointment of Dr. Eric Schmidt, the chairman and chief executive of Google, Inc., as the new chairman of New America's Board of Directors.

Dr. Schmidt, who has been a member of the New America board since the policy institute's founding, will succeed James Fallows, the author and national correspondent of The Atlantic. Fallows will remain on New America's board after the transition, which will take place on June 1st; Fallows was New America's founding board chairman.

"New America is a place where first-rate scholars are producing concrete, creative solutions for some of our nation's biggest challenges," said Dr. Schmidt. "I'm proud to be associated with the Foundation and look forward to helping shape its work and future."

"New America's influence and excellence over this last decade exceed what any of its founders could reasonably have expected," said Fallows. "We couldn't be more fortunate than to have Eric Schmidt devote some of his time, intelligence, and public-mindedness to New America's next stage of growth."

Dr. Schmidt's election to the chairmanship coincides with the arrival at New America of a new president and chief executive, the journalist Steve Coll, a staff writer at The New Yorker and former managing editor of The Washington Post who has twice received the Pulitzer Prize. Coll succeeded New America founder Ted Halstead last September; Halstead remains a New America board member.

"New America's success has been built on innovation and the search for promising new voices in scholarship, policy and journalism," Coll said. "Building cultures of innovation and seizing on breakthrough ideas has been the hallmark of Eric Schmidt's extraordinary career in Silicon Valley, and most recently at Google. New America has long benefited from Eric's counsel and support, and everyone here is delighted about his new role, which will strengthen the Foundation immeasurably in the years ahead."

One of New America's priorities during the next several years, Coll said, is to evolve toward a "digital think tank" model that will use new technologies to improve the Foundation's reach; to generate innovative research and develop new ideas; and to create networks of expertise around the most important issues facing the United States in domestic and international policy arenas.

"New America has experienced tremendous growth and success by trying to work outside of the traditional think tank categories and boundaries," Coll said. "We remain focused on our investments in great people, great ideas, and great scholarship and journalism, but we are searching for new ways in which our scholars and researchers can make themselves heard, and make a difference in national life -- and we think new technology can be an important part of these ambitions."

"Generating ideas about public policy is still a very traditional business," said Fareed Zakaria, the author and editor of Newsweek International, and a New America board member. "Eric brings high intelligence and erudition, of course, but also a fresh perspective and focus on innovation that will be extremely valuable."

Dr. Schmidt earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering at Princeton University and a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of California at Berkeley. He rose to become Chief Technology Officer at Sun Microsystems, from where he was recruited to become Chairman and Chief Executive of Novell. He became Chairman and Chief Executive of Google in 2001.

Working with founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Dr. Schmidt has helped Google to become one of the world's most important companies - an innovator in Internet strategy, technology and corporate culture.

The New America Foundation is a nonprofit public policy institute whose purpose is to bring exceptionally promising new voices and new ideas to the fore of American public discourse. Relying upon a venture capital approach, the Foundation invests in outstanding individuals and policy solutions that transcend the conventional political spectrum. Headquartered in Washington D.C., New America also has offices in California.

The Foundation has made a significant impact on a wide range of domestic and foreign policy issues since its inception in 1998. With about 100 staff and Fellows and an annual budget of $13.5 million, New America has twelve domestic and foreign policy programs, in addition to a Fellows Program and a California Program.

Contact: Jerry Irvine, (301) 801-3356, irvine@newamerica.net

Steve Coll Named Next President of New America Foundation

adminn — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 06:00:00 -0400

The Board of Directors of the New America Foundation announced today the appointment of Steve Coll as the Foundation’s next President & CEO. Coll will succeed New America’s founding President & CEO, Ted Halstead, who will remain on New America’s Board.

“Ted Halstead has been a wonderful leader through an astonishingly successful first chapter in New America’s history,” said James Fallows, Chairman of New America’s Board of Directors. “What New America represents in 2007 exceeds in all ways the expectations with which the organization began nearly ten years ago.”

“Steve Coll has the right combination of intellectual energy and achievement, managerial experience, and personal stature and integrity to make New America even better in its second chapter,” said Fallows. “As a manager of creative talent, he is deeply experienced. And as a public intellectual and creative talent himself, he sets an admirable model for our organization.”

“It has been a great honor to work alongside such an exceptionally talented and diverse Board of Directors, Senior Staff and team of Fellows in building New America as a home to the ideologically homeless,” said Ted Halstead. “I could not imagine a more worthy successor than Steve Coll, whose intellectual depth, strategic vision and managerial savvy make him uniquely qualified to lead New America to ever greater heights in the years ahead.”

“New America has an exceptional record of innovation and influence in its relatively young life, and I’m thrilled by the opportunity to join such a talented group and help shape its next chapter,” said Steve Coll. “The Foundation’s emphasis on young, unorthodox, and independent thinkers, and its connections to the pioneering state of California, are among the many great strengths that we inherit from Ted Halstead and his colleagues – strengths that we should preserve and advance.”

“This is a critical period in the country’s life, one that demands a commitment to unconventional thinking and change – a time that only emphasizes how vital New America’s mission remains,” said Coll.

Steve Coll served as Managing Editor of The Washington Post from 1998 to 2004. He is currently a Staff Writer at The New Yorker, where his work will continue to appear. An author of numerous books, he won the Pulitzer Prize in 2005 for general non-fiction for Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001. Coll also won a Pulitzer Prize in 1990 for explanatory journalism for his coverage of the Security and Exchange Commission.

The Foundation has made a significant impact on a wide range of domestic and foreign policy issues – and experienced tremendous growth – since its inception in 1998. With close to 100 staff and Fellows and an annual budget over $10 million, New America has 12 domestic and foreign Policy Programs, in addition to a Fellows Program and a California Program. Over the past nine years, New America scholars have published 33 books, convened over 650 public events, and published over 2,800 opinion pieces in leading newspapers and magazines.

The New America Foundation is a nonprofit, post-partisan public policy institute whose purpose is to bring exceptionally promising new voices and new ideas to the fore of our nation’s public discourse. Relying on a venture capital approach, the Foundation invests in outstanding individuals and policy solutions that transcend the conventional political spectrum. Headquartered in our nation’s capital, New America also has offices in California and New York.

Steve Coll will take over from Ted Halstead as President of the New America Foundation in mid-September, 2007.

James Fallows

Operations — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 12:17:00 -0400

National Correspondent, The Atlantic Monthly

James Fallows, founding Chairman of New America’s Board of Directors, is a highly acclaimed author, journalist, editor, and media commentator. Currently a National Correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly and formerly Editor of U.S. News & World Report, Mr. Fallows is also well known to National Public Radio listeners through his… more

Terrorism, Security and America's Purpose

Communications — Tue, 06 Sep 2005 12:00:00 -0400

A New America Event
09/06/2005 - 12:00pm

On September 6-7, 2005, just days before the fourth anniversary of the 9-11 terrorist attacks on the United States, the New America Foundation convened a major national policy forum to examine the challenge of international terrorism and how best to confront it.

The forum brought together national and international public leaders, policymakers and scholars, security and intelligence officials, media, and citizens from diverse viewpoints to discuss a comprehensive plan of action for addressing the threat of terrorism around the world.

Among… more

The Legacy of John Kenneth Galbraith

Communications — Mon, 04 Apr 2005 12:00:00 -0400

A New America Event
04/04/2005 - 12:00pm

In his recently released biography, Richard Parker tells the story of John Kenneth Galbraith, one of the world's most famous living economists. Parker captures Galbraith's long career in economics and politics as well as the evolution of his economic thought.

As a Harvard professor for forty years, and an adviser to Democratic presidents and presidential candidates since the 1930s, Galbraith has been a powerful and witty voice for progressive thought. His work focuses on inequality of wealth, income, and… more

The U.S. In The World: What Should Drive America's 'Next' Foreign Policy?

Communications — Thu, 15 Jul 2004 15:00:00 -0400

A New America Event
07/15/2004 - 12:07pm

-Jodie Allen Senior Editor, Pew Research Center and former Managing Editor, U.S. News & World Report Michael Lind Whitehead Senior Fellow James Fallows Chairman, New America Foundation Dimitri Simes President, Nixon Center; and author, "America's Imperial Dilemma," Foreign Affairs James Steinberg Vice President and Director of Foreign Studies, Brookings Institutionand former Deputy National Security Adviser to the President Jessica Tuchman Mathews President, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace