Appu Kuttan
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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 one million individualized courses at substantially reduced rates to public schools and colleges. He is the developer of Management By Systems (MBS) and Cyberlearning. He has written several books and articles, including ''Happy Executive — A Systems Approach; Nurturing Mind, Body and Soul'' and ''From Digital Divide to Digital Opportunity''. He has served as an advisor to President Bill Clinton, India Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, the President of Venezuela, and the Mauritius Prime Minister. Kuttan 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 athlete and owner of a global tennis academy, he mentored several tennis players including Andre Agassi and Monica Seles.


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 in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...
. He graduated from Washington University with a master's degree in 1966, and then earned a PhD in
industrial engineering Industrial engineering (IE) is concerned with the design, improvement and installation of integrated systems of people, materials, information, equipment and energy. It draws upon specialized knowledge and skill in the mathematical, physical, an ...
at the
University of Wisconsin-Madison A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...
in 1968.''University of Wisconsin-Madison: College of Engineering''
"Engineers' Day Awards"
. October 2011. Retrieved 2013-11-29.


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. In the 1970s, he was invited by the Governor of
Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
to improve their traffic system by applying his MBS strategies. Specifically, through implementing his innovative 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 death. Soon after, he worked with the
Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
n government to improve their
social security Welfare spending is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifically to social insurance ...
and healthcare programs. In 1980, he served as an informal adviser to future Indian Prime Minister
Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi (20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian statesman and pilot who served as the prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the Assassination of Indira Gandhi, assassination of his mother, then–prime ...
, 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.''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.
He also advised the Prime Minister of
Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...
on making Mauritius an IT-focused nation, and has advised the U.S. administrations of
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
,
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
, and
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
. In 1986, he purchased the
Nick Bollettieri Nicholas James Bollettieri (July 31, 1931 – December 4, 2022) was an American tennis coach. He pioneered the concept of a tennis boarding school, and helped develop many leading tennis players during the past decades, including Andre Agassi, J ...
Tennis Academy in Florida and helped develop and mentor tennis world champions
Andre Agassi Andre Kirk Agassi ( ; born April 29, 1970) is an American former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 101 ...
and
Monica Seles Monica Seles (born December 2, 1973) is a Serbian–American former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for ...
.


National Education Foundation

Founded by Kuttan in 1989 with proceeds from the sale of the tennis academy, the National Education Foundation (NEF) is a nonprofit organization based in
McLean, Virginia McLean ( ) is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community and census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population of the community was 50,773 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is ...
.''NEF University''
"About NEF"
Retrieved 2013-11-29.
NEF's mission is to advance economic equity by helping learners prepare for college and in demand, high salaried careers. NEF also provides a successful STEM+ education program for K-12. NEF's programs have had the biggest impact in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. Kuttan remains CEO and chairman of the board.Indian wins digital literacy award in US – Hindustan Times
NEF is currently providing $100 million in Career and Technical Education (CTE) and Workforce Development Grants.


CyberLearning

Launched in 1993, NEF CyberLearning provided students in disadvantaged U.S. schools with access to science, technology, engineering, math, English, social studies, business, and test prep skills (STEM+). CyberLearning offered 6,000 online courses to help disadvantaged learners. NEF CyberLearning partnered with the State University of New York (SUNY) to create STEM+ Academies, education 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. On January 7, 2017, NEF launched a $100 Million Grant initiative for schools across the U.S. to boost STEM education.


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.”''KIRKUS Review:
"Happy Executive – A Systems Approach: Nurturing Mind, Body and Soul"
August 9, 2013, Retrieved 2013-11-29.
In March 2003, Kuttan and Laurence Peters published a textbook titled ''From Digital Divide to Digital Opportunity''.MARS: Book review: From digital divide to digital opportunity by Appu Kuttan and Laurence Peters


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." * 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.”


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.


References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kuttan, Appu Living people 21st-century American engineers Engineers from Kerala Washington University in St. Louis alumni University of Kerala alumni American people of Malayali descent American male writers of Indian descent University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Engineering alumni 1941 births