Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

In Memoriam: Peter Li

  • By Deborah P. Moore
  • 04/01/16

The School Planning & Management and College Planning & Management team is deeply saddened by the death of Peter Li this past month. With his passing, the education and publishing industries lost a champion, and many of us have lost a mentor and a friend.

In the early 1970s Peter founded the Peter Li Education Group, an educational publishing and media company serving the pK–12 through higher education markets. The company was the publisher of titles that included School Planning & Management and College Planning & Management (now a part of 1105 Media, Inc.); Pflaum Publishing Group, CATECHIST magazine and Today’s Catholic Teacher magazine (now a part of Bayard); and other titles, including Technology & Learning, Today’s School and Early Childhood News.

A visionary and leader in the education publishing industry, Peter was inducted into both the Hall of Fame of the Association of Educational Publishers and the Association of Catholic Publishers’ Hall of Fame. After 40 years in the industry Peter sold the company, but remained very much interested in educational innovation.

A forward-thinking man, his influence on the education industry was great. In 1984, the year when the Apple Macintosh was first introduced and the ratio of students to computers was 1:92, he decided to publish a magazine to assist teachers with technology as the computer revolution began. In 1992 he acquired School Planning & Management, a magazine that was established in 1962, to help those responsible for facilities, construction, security and the financial stability of our nation’s schools. Understanding the important role facilities play in education, he expanded the editorial coverage to include a special section for colleges. In 1995 he funded our first annual School and College Construction Reports, and in 1998 began publishing College Planning & Management as a standalone magazine.

Peter was dedicated to making schools a better place for students and staff, and through the years supported and nurtured our publications, allowing them to grow into the resources they are today. For that, we thank him. He will be greatly missed by all of us.

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • University of Rochester to Break Ground on New Student Life Center

    The University of Rochester in Rochester, N.Y., recently began construction on a new Student Life building, according to a news release. The first floor will contain campus-wide gathering, program, and rehearsal space; the second floor will play home to the Greenbaum Center for Jewish Life.

  • Montclair State University Starts Construction on $120M STEM Building

    Montclair State University in Montclair, N.J., recently broke ground on a new $120-million Interdisciplinary Science Building, according to university news. The university partnered with HoK Architects for the project’s design, and it’s scheduled to open in time for the 2028–29 academic year.

  • Missouri Child Development Center Completes $2.3M Expansion

    The Urban Sprouts Child Development Center in St. Louis, Mo., recently announced the completion of a $2.3-million expansion and adaptive reuse project, according to a news release. The new space includes a retail café, outdoor learning space, and a support office building.

  • Georgia State University Opens New Research Tower

    Georgia State University in Atlanta, Ga., recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new, nine-story, 155,000-square-foot Research Tower, according to university news. Amenities include academic classrooms, a large lecture space, teaching labs, faculty research space, and the uppermost floors reserved for future expansion.