05 May Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan name education head
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Dr. Priscilla Chan, are on a quest to improve education, and the couple on Wednesday turned to an experienced hand to lead these efforts: Jim Shelton, former deputy secretary at the U.S. Department of Education.
Shelton will step down as president and chief impact officer of 2U, an education tech firm in Maryland that partners with colleges and universities to create online degree programs. He starts his new job in June as head of education for the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, a limited liability company the couple formed to fund philanthropic causes.
In December, the couple announced that they planned to give away 99 percent of their Facebook shares — worth more than $45 billion — to “advance human potential and promote equality.” The LLC structure of the organization is meant to give Chan and Zuckerberg more flexibility when it comes to how they spend the money, allowing them to fund nonprofits, private companies or participate in policy debates that further their mission.
The couple has been focusing on helping underserved communities and “personalized learning” where the teacher tailors instruction to meet a student’s needs and interests. The two have started a new private school in East Palo Alto, committed $120 million to Bay Area schools and helped create an online learning tool, among other efforts.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Dr. Priscilla Chan, are on a quest to improve education, and the couple on Wednesday turned to an experienced hand to lead these efforts: Jim Shelton, former deputy secretary at the U.S. Department of Education.
Shelton will step down as president and chief impact officer of 2U, an education tech firm in Maryland that partners with colleges and universities to create online degree programs. He starts his new job in June as head of education for the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, a limited liability company the couple formed to fund philanthropic causes.
In December, the couple announced that they planned to give away 99 percent of their Facebook shares — worth more than $45 billion — to “advance human potential and promote equality.” The LLC structure of the organization is meant to give Chan and Zuckerberg more flexibility when it comes to how they spend the money, allowing them to fund nonprofits, private companies or participate in policy debates that further their mission.
The couple has been focusing on helping underserved communities and “personalized learning” where the teacher tailors instruction to meet a student’s needs and interests. The two have started a new private school in East Palo Alto, committed $120 million to Bay Area schools and helped create an online learning tool, among other efforts.
Some of Zuckerberg and Chan’s education investments have faced criticism and concerns about transparency. When Zuckerberg and Chan donated $100 million in 2010 to turn around public schools in Newark, New Jersey, some characterized the work as a failure, a top-down education reform effort that largely funded labor and contract costs, charter schools and consultants.
Like Chan and Zuckerberg, Shelton said he’s learned from his past experience at the Gates Foundation the importance of talking to the people that the long-term work is impacting.
“I hope to bring some of those experiences to the table so that we make new mistakes, not the same mistakes, and also learn from the things that went well,” he said.
Shelton earned master’s degrees in education and business from Stanford University. Before that, he earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Morehouse College.
Contact Queenie Wong at 408-920-2706. Follow her at Twitter.com/QwongSJ.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.