Princeton Weekly Bulletin, February 16, 1998
11-year alum endows computer science chair
Phillip Goldman '86, cofounder of WebTV Networks Inc., and his wife Susan have made a $2 million gift to establish an endowed chair in the Department of Computer Science.
Goldman, a pioneer in Internet television, is the youngest Princeton alumnus to create an endowed professorship, doing so only 11 years after his graduation. The gift of $2 million will be supplemented by a matching grant of $500,000 from a fund established by Gordon Wu '58.
"We are most grateful for the Goldmans' gift to the department that helped encourage his exploration of technology," said President Shapiro. "We know that countless numbers of Princetonians in the 21st century will benefit from this gift, and we hope they will be inspired by Phil's generosity as well."
Started with Apple
Goldman, who is senior vice president of engineering at WebTV Networks, was first in his class at the School of Engineering. After graduation, he worked for Apple Computer, where he created leading-edge system software for the Macintosh, including MultiFinder and Virtual Memory. Later, he joined original Macintosh team members at General Magic, where he built the Magic Cap operating system.
In 1995, Goldman and colleagues Steve Perlman and Bruce Leak founded WebTV Networks, which integrates television programming and the Internet. WebTV Networks operates the WebTV Network Service, which already reaches more than a quarter of a million subscribers in the United States and Japan.
The new professorship will be called the Phillip Y. Goldman '86 Professorship in Computer Science.
Previously, the youngest person to have created an endowed professorship at Princeton was Samuel Dod, Class of 1857, who created a chair in mathematics 12 years after his graduation.
Encouragement and background
"For as long as I can remember, I've been fascinated with computers and their applications in our lives," Goldman said. "The Computer Science Department at Princeton gave me the encouragement and background I needed to pursue those interests successfully, so I'm especially pleased that so soon after leaving Princeton, I can thank the department in this way."
Computer Science professor David Dobkin recalled that when Goldman returned to campus for his 10th class reunion, he was excited about a new project. "That project, of course, was WebTV," Dobkin said. "But little did we imagine that just one year later he and Susan would be establishing a new professorship in computer science."
The gift is part of the 250th Anniversary Campaign for Princeton, which has now raised more than $530 million of its $750 million goal.