2016 Ralph Lowell Award—Call for Nominations

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) recognizes outstanding contributions to public television by presenting the Ralph Lowell medal, public television’s most prestigious award. CPB invites you to nominate individuals for the 2016 Ralph Lowell Award.

The Ralph Lowell Award is named after the Boston philanthropist, banker and pioneer public broadcaster and was created by the Lowell family in 1970 to commemorate Lowell’s 80th birthday. Presented by CPB on behalf of the Lowell family, the Ralph Lowell Award honors an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to public television.

NOMINATION PROCESS: Anyone inside or outside public television may submit nominations. No forms are required to nominate an individual for the Lowell Award. Please provide a letter of nomination, with specific references to the nominee’s achievements in or contributions to public television, and include a biographical sketch of the nominee. Nominations may be sent electronically to [email protected] and must be received by 5 pm EDT on April 25, 2016.

SELECTION PROCESS: CPB will convene a selection committee comprising a member of the CPB Board of Directors and at least two public television system representatives. The selection committee will use the following criteria in making its decision:  The medal is given to an individual for outstanding achievements in or contributions to public television.  Contributions or achievements may have occurred over many years or during a short period.  Contributions or achievements may include any facet of public television, including leadership, production, innovation, education or professional development.  The nominee need not be a professional in public television but should be active in fostering the medium.  The award may not be made posthumously.

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Nominations must be received at CPB by 5 pm EDT on April 25, 2016.

Please send letters of nomination electronically to: [email protected]

2016 Ralph Lowell Award Corporation for Public Broadcasting 401 Ninth Street, NW Washington, DC 20004-2129 Attn: Tiesha Pinchinat

BACKGROUND: Ralph Lowell, a founder of the WGBH Educational Foundation, the licensee of WGBH-TV, was instrumental in the formation of the Carnegie Commission on Educational Television, which led to the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 and the establishment of CPB. He served as chairman of the board of directors of the National Educational Television and Radio Center during its formative years. Lowell was the first president of WGBH Educational Foundation from 1951 until he became chairman in the mid-1970s.

PREVIOUS RALPH LOWELL AWARD RECIPIENTS:

Joan Ganz Cooney, Founder and President, Children's Television Workshop (1971) Jonathan Rice, Former Director of Programming, KQED-TV, San Francisco (1972) Hartford N. Gunn, Jr., First PBS President (1973) Bill Moyers, Journalist and Producer (1974) Fred Rogers, Creator and Host, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood (1975) James R. Killian, Jr., Former CPB Board Chairman (1976) John O. Pastore, Former U.S. Senator, Rhode Island (1977) Ralph Rogers, Former PBS Board Chairman (1978) James A. Fellows, Former President, National Association of Educational Broadcasters (1979) Warren G. Magnuson, Former U.S. Senator, Washington (1980) Fred Friendly, Former Communications Adviser, Ford Foundation (1981) Newton N. Minow, Former PBS Board Chairman (1982) Walter H. Annenberg, Founder, The Annenberg Channel/CPB Project (1983) Lawrence K. Grossman, Former PBS President (1984) David O. Ives, Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees and Former President of WGBH Educational Foundation, Boston (1985) Barry M. Goldwater, Former U.S. Senator, Arizona (1986)

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Sharon Percy Rockefeller, Former CPB Board Chair (1987) Ernest F. Hollings, U.S. Senator, South Carolina (1988) Robert MacNeil and Jim Lehrer, Co-anchors, The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour (1989) Ward Chamberlin, Former President and Chief Executive Officer, WETA/FM-TV, Washington, D.C. (1990) Alistair Cooke, Host and Narrator, Masterpiece Theatre, WGBH (1991) Chalmers H. Marquis, Former Public Television Representative to Congress (1992) Henry Hampton, President, Blackside, Inc. (1993) Bruce Christensen, Former PBS President (1994) Ken Burns, Documentary Filmmaker (1995) Elizabeth Pfohl Campbell, Founder and Former President of WETA and Vice President for Community Affairs (1996) Jac Venza, Director of Cultural Arts Programs, Thirteen/WNET, and Executive Producer, Great Performances (1997) Julia Child, Host of The French Chef and other public TV series (1998) Thad Cochran, U.S. Senator, Mississippi; and Edward M. Kennedy, U.S. Senator, Massachusetts (1999) David J. Brugger, Former President and Chief Executive Officer of the Association of America’s Public Television Stations (2000) Peter S. McGhee, Vice President, National Programming, WGBH Educational Foundation, Boston (2001) Ted Stevens, U.S. Senator, Alaska (2002) Maynard Orme, President & Chief Executive Officer, Oregon Public Broadcasting (2004)

Frederick DeMarco, Executive Vice President, CPB (2005)

Dr. Mary G. F. Bitterman, Veteran Public Television Executive and Former Chair of the PBS Board of Directors (2006)

Henry Becton, Former President and General Manager of WGBH, Boston (2007)

Henry Louis “Skip” Gates, Jr., Creator and Producer, African American Lives (2008)

David Fanning, Creator and Executive Producer, FRONTLINE (2009)

Earl Blumenauer, U.S. Representative, Oregon, and Founder of the Public Broadcasting Caucus (2010)

Rebecca Eaton, Executive Producer, MASTERPIECE! (2011)