Cable has stepped up to take a leading role in helping build science and math education as major players in the Obama Administration's Educate to Innovate campaign to spur students' interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
Time Warner Cable will invest $100 million in resources, including PSA time, over the next five years in its Connect a Million Minds campaign to create awareness and inspire students with hands-on experience. The initiative will include a web site, PSAs and community events.
Discovery Communications is pledging $150 million for a Be the Future campaign in partnership with research universities and federal agencies. It will include PSAs and content on Discovery Education delivered to some 60,000 schools.
In a broadband workshop at the FCC Monday on research, one of the topics of conversation was the drop in the number of U.S. students with engineering degrees and the need to boost that figure.
Time Warner and Discovery represent two of what the White House called five high-powered public-private partnerships that will be part of the Educate to Innovate campaign. "I am committed to making the improvement of STEM education over the next decade a national priority," said the President in announcing the initiative.
The White House gave a shout-out to Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt for pledging to increase the scale, scope and impact of private sector and philanthropic support for STEM education. TWC is also part of a nonprofit entity that will recruit the business community at large to the effort with help from the Carnegie Foundation and The Gates Foundation.
Also among the five public/private partners provided by the White House were Sesame Workshop and the PNC Foundation, which are teaming on a $7.5 million investment in math and science education for preschoolers.
