Pleasant Thiele Rowland (born Pleasant Williams Thiele; March 8, 1941) is an American educator, reporter, writer, entrepreneur and philanthropist. Rowland is best known for creating the
American Girl
American Girl is an American line of dolls released on May 5, 1986, by Pleasant Company. The dolls portray eight- to fourteen-year-old boys and girls of a variety of ethnicities, faiths, and social classes from different time periods throughou ...
brand. She is also notable for her efforts to redevelop historic properties in
Aurora, New York, where she created a partnership with her ''alma mater''
Wells College
Wells College is a private liberal arts college in Aurora, New York. The college has cross-enrollment with Cornell University and Ithaca College. For much of its history it was a women's college.
Wells College is located in the Finger Lakes reg ...
. She also does not invest in that community by ensuring everyone makes a living wage ($16.36(2/1/23).
She has been married to philanthropist Jerome Frautschi since 1977. Frautschi's family owns
Webcrafters printing company.
Early life and early career
Rowland was born in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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and grew up in
Bannockburn
Bannockburn (Scottish Gaelic ''Allt a' Bhonnaich'') is an area immediately south of the centre of Stirling in Scotland. It is part of the City of Stirling. It is named after the Bannock Burn, a stream running through the town before flowing int ...
, a suburb north of Chicago. She is the oldest of three sisters and a brother. Her sister Barbara Whitney Carr is president of the Chicago Horticultural Society. Her father was Edward Thiele, a Chicago advertising executive who eventually became president of the
Leo Burnett
Leo Burnett (October 21, 1891 – June 7, 1971) was an American advertising executive and the founder of Leo Burnett Company, Inc. He was responsible for creating some of advertising's most well-known characters and campaigns of the 20th cent ...
ad agency.
After graduating from
Wells College
Wells College is a private liberal arts college in Aurora, New York. The college has cross-enrollment with Cornell University and Ithaca College. For much of its history it was a women's college.
Wells College is located in the Finger Lakes reg ...
in 1962, Rowland embarked on the first of several careers. From 1962 to 1968, she was a
schoolteacher
A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching.
''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. wh ...
in several states. She was a news reporter and anchor for the ABC station
KGO-TV
KGO-TV (channel 7) is a television station licensed to San Francisco, California, United States, serving as the San Francisco Bay Area's ABC network outlet. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, KGO-TV maint ...
from 1968 to 1971.
Rowland left that industry to pursue a career as a textbook writer. For several years she was involved in writing and publishing children's textbooks. She was also the publisher of the ''Children's Magazine Guide''. In the 1970s, Rowland created a comprehensive language arts program, called ''Beginning to Read, Write, and Listen''. It was informally known as the "letterbooks", and designed to be used for kindergarten and first grade students. Through the years the program has undergone several revisions and updates.
In 1978, Rowland created Superkids with the aim of making reading education more effective for young students. Today, the Superkids Reading Program remains a phonics-based program that integrates reading, writing, spelling and grammar, and aligns with Common Core state standards. The reading program was purchased by education publisher
Zaner-Bloser in 2015 and continues to be used in thousands of classrooms across the U.S.
Career
In 1986 Rowland founded the Pleasant Company, which manufactured the "
American Girl
American Girl is an American line of dolls released on May 5, 1986, by Pleasant Company. The dolls portray eight- to fourteen-year-old boys and girls of a variety of ethnicities, faiths, and social classes from different time periods throughou ...
" dolls, books and accessories. Rowland was inspired to create the American Girl brand because of her longstanding interest in history. A visit to
Colonial Williamsburg
Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and private foundation presenting a part of the historic district in the city of Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has 7300 employees at this location and ...
led her to think that young girls might become interested in history through identifying with dolls based on historic periods. Each doll is designed with a story that places it in a specific historical time period. Books, clothing and other accessories are marketed separately for each doll.
The company's growth was rapid as it added dolls, books, clothing for dolls and girls, and numerous other accessories, such as dollhouses and children's furniture. In marketing synergy, her company created stores in major cities, events, and films planned around the dolls and their accessories. For instance, parents may pay to reserve space at stores for American Girl parties for their daughters and friends. Stores have public restaurants where mothers and daughters can have tea or other meals.
In 1998 Rowland sold the Pleasant Company (now American Girl) to
Mattel
Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...
for $700 million. Based in
Middleton, Wisconsin
Middleton is a city in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States, and a suburb of the state capital, Madison. Middleton's motto is "The Good Neighbor City." The population was 21,827 at the 2020 census.
In 2007, Middleton was chosen as the best pla ...
, American Girl reached $350 million in sales in 2001. As of 2008, its US sales were second only to the Barbie doll.
In 2001 Rowland purchased bankrupt retailer
MacKenzie-Childs
MacKenzie-Childs, Ltd. is a manufacturer of ceramics and retailer of hand-painted imported furniture and home décor, based in Aurora, Cayuga County, New York, Aurora, New York (state), New York, and founded in 1983 by Victoria and Richard MacKenzi ...
, based in Aurora, NY. After Rowland restructured the company's management team in 2006, MacKenzie-Childs became profitable. In 2008 Rowland sold MacKenzie-Childs to
Lee Feldman and Howard Cohen – part owners of Twin Lakes Capital.
In 2003 Rowland founded the nonprofit
Rowland Reading Foundation to update and distribute The Superkids Reading Program and to support research into early reading instruction.
On September 22, 2010 Rowland received an Honorary Doctoral Degree of Humane Letters from
Edgewood College
Edgewood College is a private Dominican college in Madison, Wisconsin. The college occupies a campus overlooking the shores of Lake Wingra.
History
The Edgewood College property was bought in 1855 by Mr. Ashmead from Governor Leonard J. Farw ...
in Madison, Wisconsin.
Philanthropy
Rowland and husband Jerome Frautschi are major philanthropists in
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...
. Frautschi is from the Madison area, where his family has been based for several generations.
They have made substantial contributions to Madison; together, they made one of the largest single contributions, a $250 million gift to build the
Overture Center
Overture Center for the Arts is a performing arts center and art gallery in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. The center opened on September 19, 2004, replacing the former Civic Center. In addition to several theaters, the center also houses the ...
for the Arts, a performing arts center and museum. (Frautschi is said to have financed the project wholly with personal funds from the sale of his stock in American Girl.)
Rowland has also supported the Chicago Botanic Gardens by establishing a Lakeside Gardens area.
Awards and honors
*Golden Plate Award of the
American Academy of Achievement
The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a non-profit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest achieving individuals in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet o ...
, 1999
*The Jane Bradley Pettit Award for Distinction in Philanthropy, 2009
*Wisconsin Business Hall of Fame, 2010
*Wisconsin Governor's Award
*Association of Educational Publishers’ Hall of Fame
Citations
External links
Wells College biography of Pleasant RowlandRowland Reading Foundation website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowland, Pleasant
1941 births
Living people
American entertainment industry businesspeople
Philanthropists from New York (state)
Writers from Chicago
Businesspeople from Madison, Wisconsin
Writers from Madison, Wisconsin
Wells College alumni
Philanthropists from Illinois
Toy inventors
American Girl