Charles H. House Named Chancellor of Cogswell College

Distinguished Engineer, Academic and Businessman Takes Helm of Entrepreneurship and Digital Media College

SUNNYVALE, Calif., July 21, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Board of Trustees of Cogswell College announced today that Charles (Chuck) House had been named Chancellor of the College.

Chancellor House takes the reins at Cogswell, a 124 year old, regionally accredited, four-year college offering bachelor's degrees in digital media, engineering and entrepreneurship at an exciting time at the school.  Cogswell is reshaping its curriculum with the goal to be the global leader in providing practical, hands-on education in the combined disciplines of technology and entrepreneurship, with a strong focus on disruptive technologies and disruptive business models.

Chancellor House, whose appointment is effective immediately, is an innovator with an international reputation in computer engineering, innovation and entrepreneurship.  He currently is Executive Director of Media X, Stanford University's industry affiliate research program on innovation, media and technology, and Senior Research Scholar at Stanford's Human Sciences and Technologies Advanced Research Institute.

Previously, House led a division consisting of 15,000 engineers at Hewlett-Packard as HP's Director of Research. He was personally responsible for creating the now ubiquitous "display box," where computers report their results on television screen terminals rather than by use of paper printers. He also created the HP "logic analyzers," for which he was named Engineer of the Year by Electronics Magazine and became a member of the Computer Design Hall of Fame. He built HP's international multi-mediated backbone, for which the Smithsonian Institution named him one its 200 Wizards of Computing. He has also led the Research Collaboratory and served as director of Societal Impact of Technology for Intel Corporation, after executive management positions at Dialogic, Spectron Microsystems, Veritas, and Informix.

"I'm thrilled to join Cogswell at this critical juncture as it introduces a new approach to teaching entrepreneurism," said Chancellor House. "This is an opportunity to give students practical experience in building businesses and creating new products. Entrepreneurship and innovation are the backbone of this country. We need to teach them rigorously and effectively with the goal of graduating entrepreneurs and accelerating entrepreneurial ventures in the digital media space."

The Board also announced that Lisa Kemp was being named President and Chief Financial Officer of Cogswell. Ms. Kemp brings to the College many years of executive finance and higher education operations experience. She is also a Certified Public Accountant. Before joining the College, she held numerous executive positions including Senior Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer of American Public University System, one of the nation's most successful colleges, with over 70,000 students in all 50 states and more than 100 countries.

Cogswell also announced that Dr. Chester Haskell is stepping down as President after serving the College loyally for seven years. Having concluded his work, he has decided to seek new challenges in education. The Trustees expressed their gratitude to Dr. Haskell and noted that the entire Cogswell Community feels a great sense of gratitude to Chet for his dedication, resilience, commitment to excellence and strong sense of purpose. Dr. Haskell will be a consultant to the College to facilitate the transition.

Charles Cook, the former Executive Director of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), and also a Trustee of the College, said, "Cogswell is a very dynamic place with enormous potential to create budding entrepreneurs. I'm very excited about the College's academic prospects with such a strong leader at the helm."

"We are very pleased that someone of Chancellor House's stature and experience is joining Cogswell to build our new hands-on entrepreneurship program that will be a model internationally," said Gareth Chang, Chairman and Managing Partner of GC3 & Associates International LLC, and formerly Chairman and Chief Executive of StarTV Group and on the boards of News Corporation, Apple Computer and Palm Inc.  Mr. Chang is also a Trustee of Cogswell College.

"Chancellor House has led large teams of researchers, invented critical computer machinery, started several successful businesses and directed a college research center. I can't think of anyone better prepared to lead a college that provides hands-on learning in entrepreneurship and disruptive industries. He's a rare talent," said Harold O. Levy, former New York City Schools Chancellor. Mr. Levy is also a Trustee of Cogswell College.

SOURCE Cogswell College