Communication executive-in-residence Debi Tate expands national reach

Deborah Taylor Tate, executive-in-residence in the Lipscomb University Department of Communication and Journalism and former Federal Communications Commissioner in the Bush administration, is expanding her national influence through two recent opportunities.

 

Tate has been invited by NBC News to join its first annual “Education Nation,” during the week of Sept. 27, 2010. “Education Nation” is a nationally broadcast in-depth conversation about improving education in America, beginning with an interactive two-day summit on Rockefeller Plaza.

 

Other participants include Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, President of MIT Susan Hockfield, National Superintendent of the Year Elizabeth Morgan and Civil Rights Activist Al Sharpton.

 

“Education Nation” will include more than 300 influential thinkers in government, politics, business and technology -- as well as school administrators, teachers, parents and students from across the country -- to tackle the challenges in education and highlight exciting opportunities and big ideas in education reform. The goal of “Education Nation” is to provide clear information on how schools are performing, re-imagine what education in America can be, build on national momentum within the policy and reform communities, and inspire change.

 

In addition, Tate has been appointed to the board of directors for HealthStream, Inc., a leading provider of learning and research solutions for the health care industry. Through HealthStream’s learning solutions have been contracted by more than 2.2 million hospital-based health care professionals to create safer environments for patients, increase clinical competencies of their workforces, and facilitate the rapid transfer of the latest knowledge and technologies.

 

Tate was nominated to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) by President George W. Bush and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2005. She served as commissioner of the FCC from 2006 to 2009, serving as chair of two federal joint boards regarding advanced telecommunications services.

 

Tate has participated in numerous international delegations, often representing the U.S. in bilateral negotiations and recently was a guest of the Shanghai World Expo. Along with the current president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Tate was named a 2009 World Telecommunications and Information Society Day Laureate for her international work regarding education, advocacy and protection of children online. Her outstanding record of public service has been recognized by organizations that include Common Sense Media, the Boy Scouts of America, the National Cable and Telecommunications Association and the Association of Junior Leagues International.