Connections

Advancing lifelong learning opportunities for all citizens

Next month, I will have the pleasure of joining some of this region's most distinguished corporate and community leaders at the National Constitution Center to present the WHYY Lifelong Learning Award to Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge during our third annual President's Dinner.

Created by WHYY's Board of Directors, this special award honors someone who demonstrates outstanding community leadership and a commitment to promoting lifelong learning opportunities for people here in this great region and beyond.

Before being personally selected by President Bush to become our nation's first director of homeland defense in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, Secretary Ridge was twice elected Governor of Pennsylvania. Education reform was foremost on his agenda, and he worked closely with legislators, school administrators, teachers, business leaders and community members in every corner of the state to establish more rigorous academic standards and to implement new programs that have positioned Pennsylvania as a national leader in education.

Early on, Governor Ridge recognized the vital role technology would play in shaping the future of learning for all Pennsylvanians, from preschoolers to people seeking new skills later in life. He supported significant investments in such forward-thinking initiatives as Link-to-Learn -- a multimillion dollar program that supplies schools with computers and provides teachers with the training they need to use technology effectively in their classrooms; Team Pennsylvania CareerLink -- a Web-based service giving residents access to employment, adult education, and job training resources; and the Education Empowerment Act -- a program which helps struggling school districts improve student performance and overall operations through targeted management tools and school improvement grants.

Six years ago, WHYY redefined its role as a public broadcaster, developing multimedia service strands around such fundamental areas as early childhood and adult education and workforce development to help us fulfill our mission of creating lifelong learning opportunities for all citizens, both on and off the air.

Through our own investments in 21st-century technology, WHYY has distinguished itself as this region's communications partner, and we take pride in our ability to support and advance many of the statewide programs set in motion by Governor Ridge, who is a longtime advocate of public broadcasting and, in particular, of WHYY's efforts on behalf of those in the diverse communities we serve.

In October 2001, I was proud and humbled to accept the Pennsylvania Governor's Award for Arts Leadership and Service -- the first time a broadcaster has ever received this special award -- in recognition of WHYY's longstanding support of arts and culture in this region and our production of the landmark series Philadelphia Performs!. During the award presentation, Governor Ridge honored WHYY's commitment to produce programming of the highest quality when he observed: "But for public television, there is no reason to own a television set."

I think his extraordinary vote of confidence in WHYY resonates even more deeply today, in a culture that widely accepts sensationalism across the airwaves as the norm. Secretary Ridge shares our belief that we can rise above the status quo and unite people from all walks of life through on and off-air programs and services that educate, inform and inspire -- as we at WHYY have for so many years thanks to the generous support of you, our Members, and our community partners.

As we salute Secretary Ridge for his excellent leadership and for all the work he has done and continues to do to educate citizens on local and national levels, we also reaffirm our promise to be a source for lifelong learning for generations to come.

Best regards,
William J. Marrazzo
President and Chief Executive Officer