PBS Honors Patricia de Stacy Harrison with the Beacon Award
for Lifetime Contributions to Public Media
Arlington, VA; May 7, 2026 —Today, Patricia de Stacy Harrison was named the recipient of the 2025 PBS Beacon Award in honor of her decades-long career of service championing the United States public television and public radio systems. As the highest honor in public television, the PBS Beacon Award pays tribute to individuals whose work inspires Americans and enriches our nation.
PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger presented the award at the organization’s annual meeting of member stations.
Harrison was the longest-serving President and CEO in the history of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a role she held since 2005. A steadfast steward of the federal investment in public media, Harrison advanced the mission of public broadcasting through strategic investments in digital innovation, diversity of content and talent, and community engagement.
“Pat has always understood the powerful role that public media plays as America’s storyteller, historian, and teacher,” said Paula Kerger. “In her more than two decades leading CPB, she upheld the mission and values beautifully articulated in the Public Broadcasting Act signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. With our system under attack, Pat was unflinching and unwavering in leading CPB’s defense against political pressures in defense of the irreplaceable value of the work our PBS system does together. We are grateful for her leadership, especially in making the most difficult of decisions.”
“I am deeply honored to receive the prestigious PBS Beacon Award. As a steward of the federal appropriation granted to CPB, it was an honor to ensure that the distribution of obligated funds through public media would benefit the American people in rural and urban communities throughout the country," said Pat Harrison. "I am grateful to PBS and the leadership of Paula Kerger and we will continue working together affirming public media's essential importance to our democracy for future generations."
Under her leadership, CPB funded iconic programs including FRONTLINE, PBS NEWSHOUR, NATURE, NOVA, and AMERICAN MASTERS, supported landmark children's programming from DANIEL TIGER'S NEIGHBORHOOD to MOLLY OF DENALI, and backed celebrated filmmakers including Ken Burns, Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and Stanley Nelson. She championed local journalism collaborations and ensured diverse perspectives reached audiences nationwide through partnerships with ITVS and the National Multicultural Alliance. In 2025, CPB received the Television Academy's Governors Award for its transformational contribution to the art and science of television.
Among her most significant accomplishments, Harrison spearheaded AMERICAN GRADUATE: LET'S MAKE IT HAPPEN — a nationwide initiative involving more than 700 public and private sector partners that contributed to a seven percent increase in the national graduation rate between 2011 and 2020.
This award recognizes Harrison’s visionary leadership, and her dedication to ensuring that all Americans have access to the programming that defines public media’s mission: to educate, engage, and inspire.
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