| PUBLIC BROADCASTING PIONEER AND CO-FOUNDER OF AFS INTERCULTURAL PROGRAMS WILL BE HONORED AT 2008 HUBERT H. HUMPHREY PUBLIC LEADERSHIP AWARDS
Ward B. Chamberlin, Jr., public broadcasting pioneer and co-founder of AFS Intercultural Programs, will receive the dean’s award at the 2008 Hubert H. Humphrey Public Leadership Awards on June 3, 2008. The public leadership awards honor individuals, organizations, or projects that have made contributions to the common good through public leadership and service. The annual ceremony was inaugurated in 2003 to mark the 25th anniversary of the Institute. Previous dean’s award winners include Madeleine Albright, Lee Hamilton and Jim Thompson of the 9/11 Commission, and Sen. George Mitchell. Chamberlin will be honored along side local leaders to be selected this spring through a nomination process.
Chamberlin has dedicated his career to public service. He played a critical role in the development of the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) and National Public Radio (NPR). He also is a founding member of the AFS Scholarship Programs—now known as AFS Intercultural Programs—one of the world’s largest not-for-profit, community-based volunteer organizations providing intercultural learning opportunities to help people develop the knowledge, skills, and understanding needed to create a more just and peaceful world.
“I am delighted that Ward Chamberlin has agreed to receive the Dean’s Award,” said Humphrey Institute Dean J. Brian Atwood, chairperson of the AFS International Board of Trustees. “This is a great opportunity to honor his very distinguished career as a WWII veteran, a public broadcasting leader, and a founder of AFS, the best and largest youth exchange program in the world. Ward is a great global citizen.”
“I am thrilled to be chosen for this award,” said Chamberlin. “Hubert Humphrey has long been a hero of mine, and the Humphrey Institute carries forward his concept of liberal democracy. Minnesota and Minneapolis were early and enthusiastic supporters of the AFS student program and of public television and radio.”
Chamberlin served as the operating officer for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting since its inception in 1967, and in that capacity, he played a major role in the creation of PBS and NPR. In the past 30 years he has held key positions in this industry as vice president and managing director of public television station Thirteen/WNET in New York, a member of NPR’s board of directors, and president and CEO of WETA public television and radio in Washington, D.C.
His volunteer service during World War II inspired the creation of AFS Intercultural Programs. Chamberlin was among the members of the American Field Service who reconvened in 1946 to transform an organization of volunteer ambulance drivers who transported the wounded to safety during the two World Wars into an organization to promote peace and understanding through intercultural exchanges. For more than 60 years, Chamberlin has remained involved in this effort, as former chairperson and as a life trustee of the board.
Tickets for the Hubert H. Humphrey Public Leadership Awards dinner and program will soon go on sale. Visit www.hhh.umn.edu/news/leadership_awards/ for more information.
March 27, 2008 |
