Statement of President Simmons on the passing of Leonore Annenberg
March 12, 2009
The Brown University community was saddened today to learn of the death of Leonore Annenberg LLD ’94. Mrs. Annenberg and her husband, Ambassador Walter H. Annenberg, were instrumental in supporting the University’s early efforts to improve the effectiveness of our nation’s public education system. Their early interest in creative, intelligent approaches to school reform helped foster new and renewed efforts at improving K-through-12 education in many settings, from inner cities to rural areas.
The Annenberg Institute for School Reform, established at Brown in 1993 as part of the unprecedented half-billion-dollar Annenberg Challenge to the Nation, continues the work of school reform to which the Annenbergs were so deeply devoted. The $50 million gift from the Annenberg Foundation to endow the Institute was the largest gift to Brown’s Campaign for the Rising Generation.
On behalf of the Brown University community, I offer condolences to the Annenberg family and a sincere expression of gratitude for the family’s dedication to addressing one of our nation’s most persistent and important challenges.