At the 113th Commencement ceremony of Elizabethtown College on Saturday May 14, 2016, Kathleen Pavelko, WITF President and CEO, was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters—Honoris Causa.
“In recognition of her continued leadership, Elizabethtown College is honored to present such degrees as recognition of individuals who have elevated our aspirations and compelled us to a broader, brighter future. Ms. Pavelko is one of those special people and has inspired us to advance the College’s mission of educating students for lives of service and global citizenship,” said Robert Kerr and Carl J. Strikwerda, Chair of the Board of Trustees and President of the College, respectively.
Ms. Pavelko has long been a mentor of journalistic excellence and an accomplished communicator with academic expertise and teaching experience in cable/broadcast management and cable/broadcast history. She is an experienced executive who has demonstrated strategic leadership, financial management and entrepreneurship. Her leadership has resulted in the Harrisburg-based public broadcast company reaching new levels of national recognition for journalistic excellence, earning 10 Edward R. Murrow Awards, a Mid-Atlantic Emmy and the DuPont-Columbia Silver Baton, to name a few.
“I am deeply honored to receive Elizabethtown College’s honorary doctorate, especially given the College’s mission to instill a commitment to public service in all its graduates. As a new E-town ‘graduate,’ I will strive to continue that tradition,” Pavelko said.
Before joining WITF, Ms. Pavelko enjoyed success as the President and CEO of Prairie Public Broadcasting in Fargo, North Dakota, where she created North Dakota Public Radio, the state’s first statewide public radio network. A graduate of Penn State University with a bachelor’s degree in history and a master’s degree in journalism, she has also taken part in the Advanced Strategic Management Program at the University of California at Berkeley and graduated from the Harvard Business School’s Executive Program in Non-Profit Management.
At WITF, Ms. Pavelko has launched and exceeded goals in a significant capital campaign resulting in WITF’s first new headquarters, which includes a Public Media Center. Additionally, under her leadership, endowment growth for WITF quintupled. “For 50-plus years, WITF has demonstrated its mission of lifelong learning, from earliest childhood to elder maturity. We look forward to the challenges and opportunities of the next 50 years,” Pavelko said.
The presentation of the honorary degree to Ms. Pavelko at the Commencement ceremony can be viewed here.
About WITF
WITF is an award-winning, trusted and valued supplier of programs and services that both satisfy and stimulate curiosity for residents and audiences in 19 counties in Central Pennsylvania. With a mission to strengthen our communities by connecting us to each other and to create opportunities for life-long learning, we strive every day to find ways to uniquely engage minds and enrich lives. These programs and services are delivered via WITF TV, WITF 89.5 & 93.3, the Radio PA Network, witf.org, WITF Educational Services, TFM Advertising, Media Solutions and regional magazine Central PA (published in association with The Patriot-News).
