Chris Whittle

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For the composer, musician and teacher, see Chris Mary Francine Whittle. For the paleontologist and writer on paranormal topics, see Christopher H. Whittle.

H. Christopher Whittle (born August 24, 1947) is an American

Suzhou, China. In addition to founding the above, in the early 1980s, Whittle acquired Esquire
, where he served as its chairman and publisher.

Early life and education

Whittle, the son of Dr. Herbert and Rita Whittle, grew up in

Knoxville News-Sentinel. He was also elected the student body president of Etowah High School, and, after graduation, attended the University of Tennessee (UT)
in Knoxville.

Inspired by his attendance of a

Senator Howard Baker. Whittle graduated from UT in 1969 as a “Torchbearer,” the university's highest distinction for student leaders.[6]

During this period, Whittle began what would become a lifetime of international work and study. He received a scholarship for a summer in Czechoslovakia with the Experiment in International Living program and was in Prague during the “Prague Spring” when the country attempted to leave the Soviet bloc, and later spent time in other Iron Curtain countries, including Hungary, Romania, and

Columbia University Law School but dropped out to embark on a self-styled “gap” year, where his world travels took him to Greenland, Mexico, North Africa, Afghanistan, Iran, India, Nepal, Thailand, Hong Kong, and Japan.[7]
This year abroad was so meaningful that, 20 years later, when he funded 100 full-ride UT scholarships, he included an extra fifth year abroad for each of these “Whittle Scholars.”

Career

Whittle started the 13-30 Corporation in Knoxville. In 1979 13-30 bought Esquire magazine, where Whittle served as chairman and publisher for a number of years.

Whittle has been criticized, including by Jonathan Knee, a Columbia Business School professor and author of Class Clowns: How the Smartest Investors Lost Billions in Education, for large expenditures at his companies.[8]

Edison Schools

Whittle served on the board of EdisonLearning (formerly Edison Schools), the company he founded with

NASDAQ. After reaching a high of close to USD$40 per share in early 2001, shares fell as low as 14 cents. The company was taken private in 2003, in a buyout which valued the company at $180 million [9] or $1.76 per share.[10]

Avenues: The World School

Whittle was the co-founder of Avenues: The World School, which opened in September 2012 in New York City in the neighborhood of Chelsea.[11] He resigned from Avenues to pursue his next venture: Whittle School & Studios.[12]

Whittle School & Studios

Whittle is chairman and CEO of Whittle School & Studios,[13] launched in February 2015. Whittle School & Studios is a for-profit educational company that aimed to be the "world's first global school" with a network of campuses around the world.

The school opened its Washington, D.C., and Shenzhen campuses in the fall of 2019.[14] By 2026, Whittle planned to expand to a system of 30+ major campuses in the world's leading cities. Designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop of Genoa, Italy, each campus was planned to have 600,000 square feet and serve approximately 2,500 students, ages 3 to 18, with about 160 students per grade. Roughly 60 percent were expected to be day students, and the remaining 40 percent to be weekly and full boarders. At capacity, Whittle School & Studios was intended to be a highly integrated global learning community with a faculty of more than 10,000 teachers serving more than 90,000 full-time, on-campus students as well as hundreds of thousands of other students joining part-time, either virtually or on campus.[15]

The school has experienced financial difficulties. In May 2022, it enrolled fewer than 130 students.[16] In July 2022, the DC campus ceased operations after incurring heavy operating losses during its three year tenure and failing to secure additional funding. The school still faces several lawsuits from multiple vendors and its landlord alleging nonpayment of dues and rent dating back to 2019.[17]

Other activity

He is the author of Crash Course: Imagining a Better Future for Public Education, published in 2005,

Harvard Education Press in 2011. Whittle sits on the board of the Center for Education Reform[19] in Washington, D.C. In October 2010 he received an "accomplished alumnus" award from the University of Tennessee, his alma mater, where he has funded more than 180 full scholarships.[20]

Personal life

He was married to Priscilla Rattazzi (m. 1990; div. 2022). They have two daughters.

References

  1. Advertising Age
    . January 3, 1994.
  2. Wall Street Journal
    .
  3. ^ Staley, Oliver. "Whittle Picks Exeter, Dalton Veterans to Start School". Bloomberg.
  4. ^ Warren, Katie. "Inside Avenues, an exclusive NYC private school, where Wall Street execs and tech millionaires send their kids". Business Insider.
  5. University of Illinois
    .
  6. ^ "Torchbearers – Alphabetical Order". University of Tennessee.
  7. Washington Post
    .
  8. ^ Rendon, Jim (2019-10-23). "The Master Salesman of For-Profit Education". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  9. ^ "Edison buyout draws Ire in Florida. - Free Online Library". Retrieved 2008-02-16.
  10. ^ "Edison Schools accepts buyout". Archived from the original on 2007-07-15. Retrieved 2008-02-16.
  11. ^ "Chris Whittle « Avenues – Private School". avenues.org. Archived from the original on 2018-02-08. Retrieved 2018-02-08.
  12. ISSN 0099-9660
    . Retrieved 2018-02-08.
  13. ^ "Chris Whittle - Tennessee Alumnus Magazine". Tennessee Alumnus Magazine. Retrieved 2018-02-08.
  14. ^ "Whittle School and Studios". Whittle School and Studios. Whittle School and Studios. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  15. ^ Global Education Summit 未来教育大会 (2018-01-15), Characteristics of a Modern School, archived from the original on 2021-12-13, retrieved 2018-02-08
  16. ISSN 0190-8286
    . Retrieved 2022-05-31.
  17. ^ "Whittle Suspends Operations at DC School After Financial Problems". Washington Post. Retrieved 2022-07-08.
  18. ^ Powell's Book synopsis
  19. ^ Center for Education Reform site, 14 May 2013
  20. University of Tennessee, Knoxville
    . Retrieved 14 May 2013.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chris_Whittle&oldid=1214217116"