Indian-American Frank Islam Appointed to the Commission on Presidential Scholars

By siliconindia   |   Wednesday, 20 July 2022, 23:40 IST
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Indian-American Frank Islam Appointed to the Commission on Presidential Scholars

On Friday, the White House press stated that Biden selected the Indo-American entrepreneur, Frank Islam, as one of the members of the Commission on Presidential Scholars

According to a statement released by the White House, US President Joe Biden announced his intention to appoint Frank Islam, an Indian-American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and civic leader to the Commission on Presidential Scholars. The Commission will be led by Magaret Aitken Haggerty, a communications professional who served Biden as his spokesperson and press secretary during his Senate days. It will be a 21-member commission that includes renowned Americans from different spheres of life, along with Islam. It is responsible for selecting 161 Presidential Scholars from academic, arts, and career and technical education.

Islam is known for his prominent work in the field of entrepreneurship. He is currently the head of the FI Investment Group, a private investment holding company. Previously, he founded the QSS Group, a firm specialising in information technology, which he sold in 2007. He has also held positions on several boards and advisory councils, such as the John F. Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts, the U.N. Foundation, the US Institute of Peace, and the Woodrow Wilson Centre. Additionally, Islam was also a part of the boards and councils at different universities, including John Hopkins, American University, George Mason University, the University of Maryland, and Harvard University. In an interview with the American Bazaar, Islam said the new position was an honour.

As a prolific writer, Islam has written about American politics for The Quint. He has authored books on the American political landscape. Some of his notable works are To Make America Work Again and Renewing the American Dream: A Citizen’s Guide for Restoring Our Competitive Advantage. He is a regular blogger on Medium and has been contributing to the Huffington Post for almost a decade. Islam founded the Frank Islam Institute for 21st Century Citizenship in 2018. Through its website and weekly magazine, the institute addresses civic engagement deficits and challenges to democracy in the US on a global scale.

Born in India, Islam moved to the US in the early 1970s to pursue a Bachelor’s Degree. After completing his education, he spent 20 years working for several businesses before founding his own, the QSS Group. After leaving the QSS, he and his wife established a philanthropic organisation intending to promote education, art and culture, and peace and conflict resolution. He is a well-known Democratic donor and has raised millions of dollars for Democratic presidential candidates, including Barack Obama, Hilary Clinton, and Joe Biden.