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2004 SESSION
WHEREAS, Elizabeth Pfohl Campbell of Arlington, the founder of public television station WETA-TV and a revered figure in Washington's civic and cultural life, died on January 9, 2004, at the age of 101; and
WHEREAS, a native of North Carolina, Elizabeth Campbell graduated from Salem College, earned a master's degree from Columbia University, and, at the age of 25, was dean of the Moravian College for Women in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; and
WHEREAS, after serving in the same position at Mary Baldwin College, Elizabeth Campbell moved to Arlington in 1936 and became involved in local civic and cultural affairs; and
WHEREAS, in 1947, Elizabeth Campbell was elected to the Arlington County School Board, where she served until 1963 and spearheaded the effort to integrate the County schools in the 1950s; and
WHEREAS, in 1953, the Greater Washington Educational Television Association, a coalition of public and private schools and the area's universities and cultural institutions, formed to petition the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for a license for WETA, Channel 26; and
WHEREAS, Elizabeth Campbell served as vice president and later president of the association, helping to secure grants and win the support of the local school systems for the establishment of an educational television station in the nation's capital; and
WHEREAS, in 1961, Elizabeth Campbell assembled the necessary documents to persuade the FCC to grant WETA a license for Channel 26, the capital area's first public television station; and
WHEREAS, Elizabeth Campbell continued to serve WETA in a leadership role, working relentlessly and effectively to convince the community to support the station; establishing the Children's Art Festival, which she hosted; and initiating the Elizabeth P. Campbell Lecture Series, which she coordinated; and
WHEREAS, indicative of Elizabeth Campbell's success, WETA is now one of the most prominent public television stations in the nation, the third-largest producing station in the PBS system, and the home to such programs as "The Newshour with Jim Lehrer," "Washington Week," "The Civil War," and "In Performance at the White House"; and
WHEREAS, in addition to her pioneering work with WETA, Elizabeth Campbell served on the boards of numerous community and charitable organizations, including the Arlington YMCA and YWCA, United Church Women, the Virginia Mental Retardation Planning Council, and the Consortium for Higher Education in Northern Virginia; and
WHEREAS, in recognition of her profound impact on the region, Elizabeth Campbell was honored with an Emmy Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the first Annenburg Washington Program Award, an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Washington and Lee University, and the Ralph Lowell Award from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly hereby note with great sadness the loss of a unique and irreplaceable citizen of Arlington, Elizabeth Pfohl Campbell; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Elizabeth Pfohl Campbell as an expression of the high esteem in which her memory is held by the members of the General Assembly.