Stephen Laster has joined McGraw-Hill in the newly created role of chief digital officer, reporting to ceo Buzz Waterhouse. Laster will lead the company’s digital initiatives, including creating compelling digital learning experiences for students and inspiring creative innovation across all aspects of the organization. He spent the past six years as chief information officer for Harvard Business School.
“The digitization of education provides our company with a major opportunity to make learning more accessible, engaging and effective,” said Waterhouse. “Stephen is the ideal choice to lead our digital initiatives going forward as we continue to leverage technology innovations and capabilities and create breakthrough teaching and learning experiences.”
Laster added: “McGraw-Hill Education has extensive expertise and decades of experience with instructional design and has invested substantial resources in the digitization and online delivery of programs and platforms that engage students, help them learn concepts and skills, and study more effectively. I have spent most of my professional career developing and enhancing digital learning programs at virtually all levels of education, and I am very excited to join this world-renowned organization and contribute to such an important endeavor.”
In other personnel news, Joan Lee will join HMH Children’s as senior marketing manager on August 21. She was most recently marketing manager at Hyperion.
Michael Connelly will receive the 2012 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction for THE FIFTH WITNESS.
Dancer, choreographer, and author of more than 35 books for children Remy Charlip, 83, died August 14 after a long illness. His books included FORTUNATELY (1964) THIRTEEN (1975) and most recently, A PERFECT DAY (2007). There will be a burial service at Fernwood Cemetery in Mill Valley, California on Sunday, August 19th at 1:30 pm.