Geoffrey Cowan Named President of Sunnylands Trust

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif., Sept. 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Geoffrey Cowan, dean emeritus of the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism, has been named the first president of the Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands.

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The Sunnylands Trust is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit operating entity established by the Annenberg Foundation primarily to hold high level retreats that "address serious issues facing the nation and the world community."

Sunnylands, the late Walter and Leonore Annenberg's 200-acre estate in Rancho Mirage, Calif., will serve as a venue for important meetings of top government officials and leaders from education, philanthropy, the arts, culture, science and medicine.

The Annenberg Retreat at Sunnylands will advance the Trust's mission of promoting world peace, facilitating international agreements, improving the functioning of the three branches of government, and providing opportunities for high-level interaction and communication in the public interest. A new visitors center and desert garden – set to open in late 2011 – will offer educational programs and public tours of the historic estate.

"We have an opportunity to use one of the world's most spectacular venues to make an impact on a range of important issues," Cowan said. "I am honored that the trustees have asked me to take on the challenge of helping to create an institution that will build on the Annenbergs' extraordinary legacy."

"A talented administrator and visionary leader, Geoffrey Cowan will help create a world-class institution in an inspiring setting," the trustees said in a statement. "We look forward to working with him to advance efforts to foster dialogue and build understanding among nations and individuals as we progress toward a more just, peaceful and sustainable society."

In addition to serving as president of the Sunnylands Trust, Cowan will remain at USC where he is one of 21 distinguished scholars to hold the rank of University Professor. He is on the faculty of both the USC Gould School of Law and the USC Annenberg School, where he directs the Center on Communication Leadership & Policy.

From 1996-2007, Cowan was dean of the USC Annenberg School. Prior to USC, he served in the Clinton administration as director of the Voice of America. He has been a Presidential appointee on the Corporation for Public Broadcasting board of directors and was on the White House Fellows selection committee during both the Clinton and Bush administrations.

A graduate of Harvard College and Yale Law School, Cowan is the author of the best-selling book The People v. Clarence Darrow: The Bribery Trial of America's Greatest Lawyer. He won an Emmy as producer of Mark Twain and Me and co-wrote the acclaimed play Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers.

Cowan currently chairs the California HealthCare Foundation board of directors and serves on the boards of Common Sense Media, Human Rights Watch and the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation.

For more information about Sunnylands, visit www.sunnylands.org and www.sunnylandstrust.org.

SOURCE Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands