Nothing But Net exec funds School’s 1st endowed chair

Thanks to a $1.5 million donation from a successful CU alumnus and the Chancellor’s Matching Grant Program for endowed chairs, the School of Journalism and Mass Communication received $2 million to fund its first-ever endowed chair.

James de Castro, 46, CEO and president of a Chicago-based Internet company, Nothing But Net, gave $1.5 million to the School last December for an endowed chair in new media.

De Castro’s gift, which will permanently fund a new faculty position for an expert in the field of new media, was matched with $500,000 from Chancellor Richard Byyny’s Matching Grant Program, whose purpose is to expand the number of endowed chairs across campus.

“It’s a pleasure to contribute to Chancellor Byyny’s and Dean Del Brinkman’s vision of developing the growing field in new media, broadcast communications and new technology,” de Castro said in a January press release. “Great vision, teaching and leadership is a tradition at CU, and I am thrilled to be able to give back to the University.”

While this is the School’s first endowed chair, the University has 16 endowed chairs – three of them received just this year, said Myrna Hall, vice president of development for the Boulder campus.

Jonathan Wanderstock, director of development for the School, said this is a “big deal” for the School and the University because the quality of schools are often measured by the number of endowed chairs they have.

“The beauty of an endowed chair is that it enables a school to attract a nationally recognized faculty member in a particular field,” Wanderstock said. He added that it is also very prestigious for a faculty member to hold the title of endowed chair.

“It’s historic,” Brinkman said, adding that he hopes this gift will encourage similar donations. “It comes at a good time, since we are looking for ways to elevate the school to a higher level of excellence.”

Wanderstock said de Castro “really bleeds black and gold – he loves CU.”

De Castro donated the money specifically for an endowed chair in new media, a field that involves emerging technology that is likely to become “state-of-the-art technology in the industry,” Wanderstock said.

He said that technology includes everything from computer equipment to digital cameras to streaming, which allows a person to watch TV or listen to the radio over the Internet.

“The buzz word these days is ‘convergence’ – the coming together of many forms of media coverage,” he said.

“You’re going to find more TV cameras in the newspaper newsroom,” Wanderstock said.

“Systems for delivering information are constantly growing and changing,” Brinkman said. “The endowed chair will provide new opportunities for us to enhance and maintain a state-of-the-art program with an emphasis on teaching students how to use the new media and adapt to the changing technology in the media world.”

Brinkman said the faculty is reviewing a position description. He said he expects to begin a national search in the fall, with the new faculty member starting the position in January or August 2002. Brinkman added that the job would include teaching, conducting research in new media, guest lecturing and organizing conferences.

This is de Castro’s second major gift to the School. In 1998, he gave $250,000 to help develop the school’s radio curriculum and provide operating support for KVCU, the campus radio station. He also established the CU-Boulder Dance Program Freshman Scholarship Fund.

A 1974 CU business graduate, de Castro made his career in the field of mass communication. He spent 25 years working in the radio industry and was president and CEO of AMFM’s Radio Group, one of the largest radio conglomerates in the country.
De Castro’s son, Matthew, is a sophomore at CU. His daughter, Shannon, will be a freshman in CU’s theater and dance program this fall.

In a recent telephone interview, de Castro said he would have liked to have had the opportunity to take a course that covered the “plethora of new media” from Internet to PalmPilots and the convergence of the different forms of media.