University Park, PA -- On April 20, 1952, more than 100 leaders in education, broadcasting, and government gathered at Penn Stateçs Nittany Lion Inn, accepting a challenge by the Federal Communications Commission to begin a non-commercial educational television service. Educational offerings utilizing closed-circuit television were already taking place in classrooms across Penn State. This meeting spearheaded the development of PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) and Penn State's own Channel 3—WPSX-TV.

To highlight the history and successes of Penn State Public Broadcasting, the University Archives is exhibiting "We're on the Air: Educational Broadcasting at Penn State" through September 15 in the Special Collections Library exhibit area, 104 Paterno Library.

The exhibit features items related to WPSX-TV and its National Public Radio (NPR) affiliate WPSU-FM, such as historical photographs; programming materials; biographies of Penn State's broadcast pioneers—Arthur Hungerford, Leslie Greenhill, C. Ray Carpenter, and Marlowe Froke; posters; and articles.

From its inception in the early 1960s to today, WPSX-TV (one of more than 340 nationwide PBS stations) has undergone rapid growth. What began as an educational station with limited programming and broadcast range, now delivers more than 8,760 hours of commercial-free programming to approximately one million households, 365 days a year.

Since its beginning, educational broadcasting at Penn State has encompassed distributed classroom instruction; original programming, such as "Weather World," "To the Best of My Knowledge," "Whatçs in the News," "Take Note," and "15 Minutes," among others; and thematic series productions, including "Fred Waringçs U.S. Chorus," "Keys to the Cupboard," "Odyssey through Literature," and "Only One Earth." The paper, film, and video documentation for this unique and vibrant collection resides in the Penn State University Archives, 104 Paterno Library.

WPSU-FM, which also began in the 1960s, was a local student-operated radio station and has evolved into Central Pennsylvaniaçs only full-service NPR affiliate. A twenty-four-hour-a-day station, WPSU-FM serves more than 500,000 listeners throughout twelve central counties.

The Special Collections Library is open MondayŒFriday, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. The exhibit area is now open Sundays, from 1:00–5:00 p.m. For more information, contact Penn State University Archivist Jackie Esposito at jxe2@psu.edu or 814-865-7931.