Appu Kuttan

Appu Kuttan (born 1941, Kerala, India), is an Indian American philanthropist, consultant, author, and the founder and chairman of the National Education Foundation (NEF), a global non-profit organization, founded in 1989. His philanthropic efforts include the distribution of over a million top-rated individualized courses at drastically reduced rates to public schools and colleges.[1][2]

Appu Kuttan
“You are helping to empower tomorrow’s leaders. I salute you for your ongoing commitment for creating a better and stronger America.” - US President Bill Clinton to Dr. Appu Kuttan
Born
Kerala, India
Alma materWashington University in St. Louis
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Websitehttp://www.cyberlearning.org

http://www.nefuniversity.org http://www.happyexecutive.org

http://www.appuji.org

He is the developer of Management By Systems (MBS) and Cyberlearning. Prompted by a conversation with Gordon Moore of Intel and President Bill Clinton, Kuttan is credited for originally coining the term 'cyberlearning' long before its popular use (https://web.archive.org/web/20161111234114/http://www.happyexecutive.org/product/adopt-student). He has written several very highly rated books and articles, including Happy Executive — A Systems Approach; Nurturing Mind, Body and Soul and From Digital Divide to Digital Opportunity (Amazon Reviews). He has served as an advisor to several national leaders including President Bill Clinton, India Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, the president of Venezuela, the Mauritius prime minister, among others.

He has led a number of national and international reform programs addressing issues including traffic improvement (Puerto Rico), social security and healthcare reform (Venezuela), literacy and internet access improvement (Egypt), health and fitness through 'CardioSalsa' and 'Running Pushups' (USA), and STEM+ Education (USA). A former champion athlete and owner of a global tennis academy, he mentored several tennis legends including Andre Agassi and Monica Seles.[3][4]

His global impact has been driven by a number of groundbreaking philosophies captured in acronyms such as the 3 Ws (Win, Win, Win) for healthy partnerships, 3Ps (Purpose, Plan, Passion) for successful programs, 3 performance measuring Es (Effectiveness, Effort, Efficiency), 4 health reduce Ss (Sugar, Salt, unhealthy Saturated fat, Stress), and most notably MBS (Mind, Body, Soul), a practical pathway to happiness, captured in his Happy Executive book, lauded by Kirkus.[4][5]

Early life, education

Appu Kuttan was born in 1941 in Kerala, India. He received his bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from the Kerala University in 1963, and moved to the United States in 1964 on a Tata scholarship to attend Washington University (WU). He graduated from WU with a master's degree in 1966, and then earned a PhD in industrial engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1968.[6]

Early career

Early in his career, Kuttan created the Management By Systems (MBS) concept of setting specific goals and objectives, and achieving them by deploying available resources systematically and effectively.[6][7] In the 1970s, he was invited by the Governor of Puerto Rico to improve their traffic system by applying his MBS strategies. Specifically, through implementing his groundbreaking 3 E's philosophy (Effectiveness, Efficiency, Effort), he was able to improve the management of delinquent traffic officers and by reducing public drunkenness, he achieved a dramatic 20% reduction in traffic related deaths []. Soon after, he worked with the Venezuelan government to improve their social security and healthcare programs.[6]

In 1980, he served as an informal adviser to future Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, focusing on how to make India an information technology power using India's educated manpower, strategies that were later implemented when Gandhi took power in 1984.[8][9] He also advised the Prime Minister of Mauritius on making Mauritius an IT-focused nation, and has advised the U.S. administrations of Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama.[6]

In 1986, he purchased the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida and helped develop and mentor tennis world champions Andre Agassi and Monica Seles.[8]

National Education Foundation

Founded by Appu Kuttan in 1989 with proceeds from the sale of the tennis academy, the National Education Foundation (NEF) is a nonprofit organization based in the Washington, DC Metro area.[10] NEF provides disadvantaged students, teachers, employees, and jobseekers top-quality tuition-free STEM+ (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, English, Social Studies, Test prep, Information Technology, Business, Management, and Soft Skills) education, particularly in the United States and India. Kuttan remains CEO and chairman of the board.[6][11]

NEF is currently providing $100 million in education grants to help schools navigate the challenges of the pandemic and tackle learning loss.[12]

CyberLearning

Launched in 1993, the NEF CyberLearning provides students in disadvantaged U.S. schools with access to science, technology, engineering, math, English, social studies, business, and test prep skills (STEM+).[6] CyberLearning offers 6,000 online courses to help disadvantaged students and adults.[10] NEF CyberLearning partners with the State University of New York (SUNY) to create STEM+ Academies, a remarkable education solution that includes personalized learning, teacher stipends, student rewards, teacher and parent training. Lehighton Area School District, PA, won NEF's 2016 STEM+ Academy of the Year ($11,000), because their students advanced a grade level in math and reading in just 26 and 27 learning hours respectively.[13] On January 7, 2017, NEF launched a $100 Million Grant initiative for schools across the U.S. to boost STEM education.[14]

Books

Kuttan’s book Happy Executive — A Systems Approach: Nurturing Mind, Body and Soul is partly his memoir, and partly a self-help guide for business executives. According to Kirkus, the book provides “a methodical, well-organized guide for the world’s future leaders.”[5]

In March 2003, Kuttan and Dr. Laurence Peters published a text book titled From Digital Divide to Digital Opportunity.[15]

Awards
  • In August 2006, Certiport named Kuttan their Global Digital Literacy Champion, an annual prize awarded for spreading computer literacy around the world, stating, "We selected Dr. Appu Kuttan unanimously for this prestigious award because of his outstanding leadership and contributions towards advancing digital literacy in many countries over many years."[8][11]
  • On October 14, 2011, University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Engineering gave Appu Kuttan a Distinguished Achievement Award for his lifelong work, stating, “One million -- It’s the number of disadvantaged students Appu Kuttan helps via NEF, the nonprofit he founded in 1989, dedicated to bridging academic, digital, and employment divides through digital education.”[6]

Personal life

Kuttan lives in the Washington DC Metro area with his wife, Claudia, also an alumnus of University of Wisconsin, Madison. They have two adult children, Roger and Maya.[6]

References
  1. The Uncensored Report - Francesco Abbruzzino (2014-07-11), Francesco Abbruzzino w Dr. Appu Kuttan, Happy Executive, retrieved 2019-02-11
  2. Heyl, Mary (June 23, 2019). "Brocton Central School wins national STEM award". Observer.
  3. Seles, Monica (1996). Monica : from fear to victory. HarperCollinsPublishers. ISBN 0060186453. OCLC 34876598.
  4. "NEF/SUNY Potsdam: India Skill Development Initiative | SUNY Potsdam". www.potsdam.edu. Retrieved 2019-02-11.
  5. KIRKUS Review: "Happy Executive – A Systems Approach: Nurturing Mind, Body and Soul", August 9, 2013, Retrieved 2013-11-29.
  6. University of Wisconsin-Madison: College of Engineering. "Engineers' Day Awards" Archived December 9, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. October 2011. Retrieved 2013-11-29.
  7. Appu Kuttan has a ‘gameplan’ to bridge the digital divide in India | Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis
  8. Overseas Indian, Official e-zine of the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, Appu Kuttan Gets Global Digital Literacy Award, August 2006, Retrieved 2013-11-29.
  9. "The Year of Indian Diaspora - 2006 by Aroonim Bhuyan". Archived from the original on 2014-07-02. Retrieved 2014-08-04.
  10. NEF University. "About NEF". Retrieved 2013-11-29.
  11. Indian wins digital literacy award in US - Hindustan Times Archived November 29, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  12. "National Education Foundation Announces $100 Million Grants to Disadvantaged Schools". www.wboc.com. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
  13. Hedes, Jarrad (May 25, 2016). "Lehighton accepts challenge, District wins $11,000 national STEM award". Times News Online. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  14. http://www.rivernewsonline.com/main.asp?SectionID=4&SubSectionID=309&ArticleID=75572
  15. MARS: Book review: From digital divide to digital opportunity by Appu Kuttan and Laurence Peters Archived September 25, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
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