Pleasant Rowland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pleasant Rowland (born Pleasant Williams Thiele circa 1941) is an American educator, writer, and entrepreneur. Rowland is best known for creating the American Girl brand.
She has been married to Jerome Frautschi, who runs the family-owned Webcrafters book publishing company, since 1977.
Contents |
[edit] Early life and early career
Rowland was born and raised in Madison, WI. Her father was Edward Thiele, a noted Chicago advertising executive who eventually became president of the Leo Burnett ad agency.
After graduating from Wells College in 1962, Rowland embarked on several careers. From 1962 to 1968, she was a schoolteacher in several states. She also was a news reporter and anchor for ABC affiliate station KGO-TV from 1968 to 1971. Rowland left that industry to pursue a career as a textbook writer, and for several years was involved in writing and publishing children's textbooks. She was also the publisher of the Children's Magazine Guide. [1]
[edit] Accomplishments
[edit] American Girl
Rowland founded the Pleasant Company, which manufactures the American Girl dolls and accessories, in 1986. Rowland was inspired to create the American Girl brand by a visit to Colonial Williamsburg; she felt that the dolls, books, and accessories would make history more tangible - and therefore more compelling - for young girls. Each doll is designed with a specific story, placing them in a specific historical time period.
Based in Middleton, Wisconsin, the company reached $350 million in sales in 2001, and is second only to Barbie in U.S. doll sales. She sold the Pleasant Company (now American Girl) to Mattel in 1998 for $770 million.
[edit] Beginning to Read, Write, and Listen
Rowland authored this comprehensive language arts program (commonly known as the "letterbooks") to be used with kindergarten and 1st grade students in the 1970s. The program has undergone several revisions and updates, and is currently owned and marketed by the Macmillan/McGraw-Hill School division of the McGraw-Hill Companies.
[edit] Philanthropy
Rowland and husband Jerome Frautschi are major philanthropists in Madison, Wisconsin. Frautschi is from the Madison area and his family has been based there for several generations. They have made substantial contributions to Madison; together, they made what is one of the largest single philanthropical contributions ever, a $205 million gift to build the Overture Center for the Arts, Madison's performing arts and civic center. Originally, this donation was completely anonymous; later, the donor was revealed to be Jerome Frautschi. (Frautschi is said to have wholly financed the project with his personal funds from the sale of his stock in American Girl.) [2]
[edit] Criticism
Rowland has been noted in print as being an enigmatic figure, and challenging to work with. A fellow Madison resident who worked with Rowland on a project summed up the experience by stating: "Pleasant, isn't." [3]
[edit] Aurora
Rowland is a central and controversial figure in an ongoing debate about preservation and development related to the village of Aurora, New York. [4] Rowland's foundation joined forces with Wells College to create the Aurora Foundation, which temporarily managed a number of college-owned buildings and businesses in Aurora (all in a National Historic Register District) with the proposed intent of restoring the area. Among Rowland's ideas including burying cable and power lines, so the area has a more pastoral feel (as it did in pre-industrial times).
However, Rowland's project has also drawn criticism and concern. Critics contend that historic structures have been destroyed, fully gutted, substantially altered, or targeted for demolition, and have expressed concern that Rowland took control of so much property and invested a great deal of money ($40 million) without real benefit to the local economy. Their concerns are magnified by the fact that Rowland is not a native to the area (her only connection to Aurora is the time she spent there while attending Wells College, 1958-1962) and because she has been largely inaccessible to the community. [5] The controversy intensified as renovations continued, and gained national attention. [6]
A local grass-roots organization, The Aurora Coalition, was formed. [7] Other organizations also joined the debate, including the National Trust for Historic Preservation. [8] The state Preservation League joined with these groups and filed a lawsuit to suspend the redevelopment project. [9] The intent was to conduct a comprehensive public review and environmental impact study of Rowland's development project. The request was denied. [10]
Rowland also acquired the locally-based craft company MacKenzie-Childs, which was in distress, in 2001 and made investments to enhance the production and retail facilities. [11] Rowland is currently involved in litigation with the original founders of the company regarding branding and trademark issues. [12]
[edit] Happyland
A new fictional work, Happyland by noted author J. Robert Lennon, became involved in controversy due to the book's plot, which had many parallels with the controversy in Aurora. In May 2006, W. W. Norton, which had been slated to release Lennon's novel, decided not to publish the book, reportedly due to concerns about possible litigation. [13]. Harper's Magazine has agreed to serialize the novel in its pages. [14]
