Filmmaker Steven Spielberg and Hearst Corporation CEO Frank Bennack will serve as members of the advisory board for the David and Helen Gurley Brown Institute for Media Innovation, the institute announced recently.

The Brown Institute, established this January, is a collaboration between the Stanford School of Engineering and the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, designed to “encourage and support new endeavors in media innovation,” according to its website.

Former Cosmopolitan Editor in Chief Helen Gurley Brown donated $30 million to fund the bicoastal institute in memory of her late husband David Brown ’36. As a film producer, David Brown collaborated with Spielberg and Richard Zanuck on films such as “Jaws,” “Driving Miss Daisy” and “The Verdict.”

When David Brown passed away in Feb. 2010, Spielberg issued a statement.

“We all remember our favorite teacher – captivating, wise, humorous, and very kind. David Brown was like that for me,” Spielberg said. “He and Richard Zanuck had the most successful partnership in all of Hollywood and were wonderful mentors to me on my first two pictures.”

Bill Campbell, chairman of the board at Intuit, Inc; Eve Burton, Hearst senior vice president and general counsel; and Mary Meeker, a partner at Kleiner, Perkins, Caulfied and Byers will also serve on the institute’s board.

 

— Alice Phillips