These companies guessed that a community of innovators embedded in leading colleges and universities would amplify the impact of their tools in a wide range of disciplines, and that such a community could be uniquely self-sustaining and adaptive.

To that end, the founding partners launched the first Search for Excellence, to identify schools in which an investment in multimedia capacity could bear fruit. The colleges among the first group of 22 academic institutions were chosen for their demonstrated competence at using new media technologies, as well as their geographic distribution and breadth of academic specialties.

Those 22 institutions initiated an explosion of collaborative activities, and their working group—then called the New Media Centers—quickly evolved into an independent not-for-profit 501(c)3 corporation by early 1994, with headquarters in San Francisco.

In 1995 and 1998, the organization expanded the membership in two international searches, and today, the NMC now includes 150 extraordinary colleges, universities, and museums working together to expand the boundaries of teaching, learning, and creative expression.

In 2002, the NMC moved its national headquarters to Austin, Texas, and began to organize its projects and activities into broad but focused initiatives. Working through these initiatives, today's NMC has earned a well-deserved reputation as a leader in the inventive application of technology to challenges in teaching, learning, and creative expression.