HD production facility, EncycloMedia among accomplishments
For Release: 2009-10-01 10:02:00
KET executive director, Malcolm “Mac” Wall, today announced his plans to retire effective December 31, 2009.“Having served as executive director for six-and-a-half years,” Wall said, “it has been a privilege to represent KET to the Commonwealth and to the nation. I have said often, that to be at KET at the zenith of one’s career is truly a dream come true.”
Wall, 63, with a 40-year career in public broadcasting, cited the completion of KET’s $15.7 million high-definition production center as a highlight of his leadership of KET. The HD documentary Thoroughbred will premiere to the Commonwealth and the nation next year. Online education services to Kentucky classrooms, such as KET EncycloMedia, have expanded dramatically under Wall’s leadership, becoming a keystone service to teachers and students.
“Public media is at its best when it’s responsive to those we serve,” said Wall. “Traveling more than 60,000 miles throughout Kentucky, it has been my privilege to hear directly from thousands of citizens. As a result, we were able to serve their needs even more precisely with our significant presence on Main Street in Louisville, and efforts such as the Be Well Kentucky health initiative and the Kentucky Channel.”
“All of us in the KET family are indebted to Mac for his incredible leadership,” said Hilma Prather of Somerset, chair of the Kentucky Authority for Educational Television, KET’s governing body. “His clear and prescient vision for 21st century broadcasting and its role for improving the lives of Kentuckians, combined with his dynamic energy, have allowed KET to make the transition into the digital world smoothly and to develop new programs and services that will benefit Kentucky for years to come.”
Paula Kerger, PBS president, said, “Mac Wall is known throughout the PBS system for his vision, integrity and dedication, as well as for his commitment to the educational ideals upon which public television is based. Kentucky Educational Television has thrived under his extraordinary leadership, becoming an indispensable resource for the people of the Bluegrass State and an inspiration to PBS stations across the United States. I congratulate Mac on his retirement, and I commend him for the positive difference he has made in the lives of his community and the PBS system as a whole.”
Skip Hinton, president of the National Educational Telecommunications Association, a 38-year colleague of Wall, said, “Mac is an extremely effective representative for Kentucky in the public television system, through both elected and appointed positions. KET has long been recognized as a leader in education, classroom service, teacher professional development and local production. Mac’s leadership in these areas has helped to continue, strengthen and expand KET’s services, as well as provide a strong benchmark as to what other public television stations can accomplish.”
Wall and his wife, Ruth Anne, celebrating 38 years of marriage, are expecting their first grandchild and will reside in Florida and Oregon.
A committee of the Kentucky Authority for Educational Television will be appointed to begin a search for the next leader of KET.
About KET
KET’s mission is education. As a leader in producing and providing instructional media tools for the classroom, KET is in every Kentucky public school with educational resources for students. KET also uses the latest media tools to provide accredited professional development seminars for educators and training programs for child-care providers. KET is widely acknowledged as the premier producer of video instruction in GED, adult basic skills and workplace education.
KET educates, inspires and connects Kentucky’s citizens through statewide arts, cultural, documentary and public affairs programs, and is Kentucky’s source for PBS programs, including high-quality, educational children’s programming.
KET’s broadcast signal reaches to viewers throughout all of Kentucky and in parts of seven surrounding states through 16 transmitters. With three digital channels – KET, KET2 and KET KY – 890,000 Kentuckians, including some 200,000 children, watch KET programs every week.
Learn more about KET's mission, services and history at www.ket.org/about.
More about Wall’s leadership of KET can be found at: http://www.ket.org/about/ceo.htm.
Contact: Tim Bischoff
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