News from
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
Office of Communications, Stanhope Hall
Princeton, New Jersey 08544
Tel 609/258-3601; Fax 609/258-1301Contact: Justin Harmon 609/258-5732
Date: February 2, 1998
WebTV Networks Co-Founder Gives $2 Million to Princeton for Chair in Computer Science
PRINCETON, N.J. -- WebTV Networks Inc.'s co-founder Phillip Y. Goldman of Princeton's Class of 1986 and his wife Susan have made a $2 million gift to establish an endowed chair in the University's Department of Computer Science.
Goldman, a pioneer in Internet television, is the youngest Princeton alumnus to create an endowed professorship, doing so only 11 years after his graduation. The Goldmans' gift of $2 million will be supplemented by a matching grant of $500,000 from a fund established by Sir Gordon Y.S. Wu, of Princeton's Class of 1958.
"We are most grateful for Phil Goldman's splendid gift to the Computer Science Department, which helped encourage his own exploration of technology," said University President Harold T. Shapiro. "We know that countless numbers of Princetonians in the 21st century will benefit from this gift, and we hope that they will be inspired by Phil's generosity as well."
Goldman, who is senior vice president of engineering at WebTV Networks, was first in his class at Princeton's School of Engineering. After graduation, he worked for Apple Computer, where he created leading-edge system software for the Macintosh, including MultiFinder and Virtual Memory. Later, he joined original Macintosh team members at General Magic, where he built the Magic Cap operating system.
In 1995, Goldman and his colleagues Steve Perlman and Bruce Leak founded WebTV Networks, which integrates television programming and the Internet. WebTV Networks operates the WebTV Network™ Service, which already reaches more than a quarter of a million subscribers in the U.S. and Japan.
The new professorship will be called the Phillip Y. Goldman '86 Professorship in Computer Science. Previously, the youngest person to have created an endowed professorship at Princeton was Samuel Dod, Class of 1857, who created a chair in mathematics 12 years after his graduation.
"For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated with computers and their applications in our lives," Goldman said. "The Computer Science Department at Princeton gave me the encouragement and background I needed to pursue those interests successfully, so I am especially pleased that so soon after leaving Princeton, I can thank the department in this way."
Professor David P. Dobkin, chair of the Computer Science Department, recalled that when Goldman returned to campus for his tenth class reunion -- an enduring tradition of Princeton alumni -- he was excited about a new project. "That project, of course, was WebTV," Dobkin said. "But little did we imagine that just one year later he and Susan would be establishing a new professorship in Computer Science. As his senior thesis advisor and now the department chair, this gift is personally very gratifying to me and tremendously significant for Computer Science at Princeton."
The gift is part of the Anniversary Campaign for Princeton, launched in 1995 to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the University's charter. The campaign, which now has raised some $530 million, is seeking to raise a total of $750 million by the year 2000 to strengthen the University's programs of teaching, scholarship and research.
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You can find more information about the Phillip Y. Goldman '86 Professorship in Computer Science, WebTV and Princeton University at: http://www.cs.princeton.edu/affil/goldman.html
For media contacts with Phil Goldman, call Carol Sacks, Director, Corporate Communications, WebTV Networks (415) 614-2736.
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