ARLINGTON, VA; May 15, 2023 – Today, PBS announced Bruce Christensen was honored with the Dan Miller Station Leadership Award to celebrate his life and legacy. Christensen served as President and CEO of PBS for nine years, starting in 1984. This award recognizes managers in the public media system whose leadership, vision, courage, and commitment to the mission of public media have inspired their colleagues and created a lasting impact in their communities.
PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger presented the award to Christensen’s son, Jesse, who accepted the honor on behalf of his late father at the organization’s annual gathering of member stations.
“It is with deep admiration and gratitude that PBS honors Bruce Christensen for his lifelong dedication, steadfast leadership, and commitment to enriching public media,” said Kerger. “Bruce’s legacy and devotion to education was an inspiration and will be forever ingrained within the PBS system.”
For nearly a decade, Christensen championed PBS as a beacon for education and learning, reaching communities nationwide. He formed strong bonds throughout the public media system, offering guidance, support, and encouragement of forward-looking perspectives that adapted with the evolving media landscape to better serve public interest. Prior to serving as PBS President and CEO, Christensen was president of the National Association of Public Television Stations, now known as APTS. He also served as General Manager of KUED, Senior Vice President of Bonneville International (KSL), and Dean of Brigham Young University’s College of Fine Arts and Communications.
The Dan Miller Station Leadership Award is named in honor of Dan Miller, a longtime Executive Director and General Manager of Iowa Public Television who passed away in February 2018. Receiving the inaugural PBS Station Leadership Award in 2016, Miller was recognized for his outstanding contributions to public media as a leader at the local level as well as across the system as a whole.
Other previous honorees include Executive Director of Arkansas Educational Television Network Allen Weatherly (2017), Wisconsin Public Media Director Malcolm Brett (2018), President and Chief Executive Officer of Nine Network of Public Media Jack Galmiche (2019), Jim Pagliarini, Twin Cities Public Television former President and Chief Executive Officer (2020), Tom Axtell, Vegas PBS General Manager (2021), and Don Boswell, President and Chief Executive Officer of Buffalo Toronto Public Media (2021), and Beth Courtney, CEO of Louisiana Public Broadcasting (2022).
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