Robert H. and Frankie Jo Ellis / KAET Scholarship
Robert H. and Frankie Jo Ellis / KAET Scholarship
Learn more about your impact
This scholarship provides financial support for Cronkite undergraduate students.
Robert Harry Ellis, the first general manager of KAET/Arizona PBS, died in March 2021 at the age of 93 after battling bone cancer and kidney disease. Ellis, an ASU alumnus, began working at ASU in 1959 as director of radio operations and led the new television station, then known as KAET, from its launch in 1961 until 1987. He oversaw many of the station’s milestones, from the first nightly newscast in 1962 and the first purchase of color cameras in 1968 to the station’s first on-air fundraising event in 1975 and the creation of the long-running public affairs program “Arizona Horizon” in 1981.
Ellis was an associate professor at ASU, teaching a broadcast management class for 25 years and retired as the associate vice president for university relations.
Ellis was a founding member of the ASU Retirees Association, the Tempe Sports Authority and the Tempe Visitors and Convention Bureau and served on several boards, including the Phoenix Zoo Board, the Arizona Humanities Council and the national board of the Public Broadcasting Service. He is a member of the ASU College of Public Programs Hall of Fame and the Arizona Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
Not only will I no longer have to worry about paying the full cost of my tuition, but since this scholarship has allowed me to enroll full-time, I now know when I will graduate and receive my bachelor’s degree."
Impact of Donor Support
- The Cronkite School’s “teaching hospital” model of education offers students real-world, hands-on training in a live environment.
- More than 125 students benefited from donor-funded scholarship support during the 2022-2023 academic year.
- Cronkite students have access to 13 full-immersion professional programs that produce news, information and community engagement on critical issues for the state, region and nation.
- In the 2021-2022 academic year, more than 400 students were placed into internships.
- 92% of Cronkite alumni are employed full time.
Our family believes in giving back and sharing the blessings we have received financially and through our time."