Elizabeth Campbell (television)

Elizabeth Pfohl Campbell (December 2, 1902 – January 9, 2004) was one of the first and most prominent public television pioneers in the United States. Campbell also served as a teacher, college administrator, as a notable board member for the Arlington Public Schools, and as the founder of WETA-TV, the first public television station in Washington, D.C.^[1]

Early Life and Education Career

Elizabeth Pfohl was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina to a Moravian minister and a music teacher. She received her high school education at Salem Academy where she graduated in 1919, and received her bachelors degree in Education from Salem's sister institution, Salem College in 1923. She then went to receive her master’s degree in Education from Columbia University and taught high school girls at Salem Academy afterwards. She also served as an administrator at Moravian College and Mary Baldwin College after teaching at Salem. Pfohl married Edmund Campbell in 1936, a trial lawyer and moved with him to Arlington, Virginia, where he lived. They would have four children together.

In 1948, Campbell was elected to the school board of Arlington County, Virginia, which was the first directly elected school board in Virginia. While on the board, she was instrumental in adding fine arts classes, comparable facilities for African- American and white students, securing higher teacher salaries, and building new schools. She served as the chair from 1950–1956, when she retired temporarily, and again from 1960-1962. In 1954, she helped pave the way to desegregate schools in Arlington, despite Virginia's "massive defiance" of Brown vs. Board of Education.

WETA and Public Broadcasting

Campbell was intrigued by the power of television since the 1940s, believing that it could be used for educational purposes. In 1952, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) authorized Channel 26 to be designated for educational television, and in 1953, the Greater Washington Educational Television Association (GWETA) was created. Campbell joined the GWETA in 1956 initially as vice chairman, and became president a year later. While she was the GWETA president, Campbell worked hard to raise funds for a local educational TV station in Washington, DC. In 1961, an application was sent to the FCC to open WETA, and on October 2, the station finally went on the air.

The station initially was on the air only during daytime hours on weekdays, but it was soon on the air 86 hours a week, including weekends in 1966. WETA-TV today is on the air 24 hours a day and is the third largest public television station in the United States. In 1966, Campbell helped expand WETA into the radio market, with a WETA radio station going on the air in 1970 at 90.9 FM, which plays mostly classical music, and NPR news programming.

Post-WETA Work

In 1971, Campbell retired from the GWETA and WETA-TV as its president, but held the position of Vice President of Community Affairs, which she held until she died. During this time, Campbell helped launch the Children’s Art Festival of the Washington, DC area; and the Elizabeth P. Campbell Lecture Series, which presented broadcasting notables. Because of her groundwork for WETA as well as public broadcasting in general, Campbell was given high honors, including an Emmy Award in 1987, honorary doctorates from Washington and Lee University and Salem College. Campbell also won many awards in the Public Broadcasting community for her service, from PBS and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. ^[2] Campbell continued to serve on other community boards, including the Northern Virginia Fine Arts Association, the YWCA, and as a board of trustees member for Salem Academy, where she organized a partnership between the school and WETA-TV which included internships for Salem students during their unique January term.

On January 9, 2004, Campbell died in Arlington after a brief illness at the age of 101. Arlington, Virginia honored her by naming a grade school as well as Campbell Lane after her,^[3] and the Virginia State Senate passed Joint Resolution No. 174 noting "with great sadness the loss of a unique and irreplaceable citizen."^[4]

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