50 Years of Public Television

The University of Arizona has been home to public broadcasting in Arizona since 1959, when the FCC granted the call letters KUAT (University of Arizona Television) to the university’s “Radio and Television Bureau,” then operating out of the newly-remodeled Herring Hall, one of the oldest buildings on campus. The television broadcast facilities were eventually moved to Modern Languages when it was completed in 1969. Today, operating as a unit of Arizona Public Media, KUAT offers six streams of public television programming on two full-power digital transmitters, three streams of public radio from two stations (NPR and Classical KUAT), while maintaining a separate community access UA Channel and a solid online presence. Its service to the public stays strong through ongoing public support and active community involvement.