"Our future rests on our nation's citizens to be informed and to be active participants in our democracy. And people can't be active participants if they're not informed and they're not engaged. And I think we all have a responsibility to do that. I think we all have a responsibility to ensure that our next generation is educated and is brought together, and understands the role of citizenship as well as their place in this country.
"So our stations working together are really looking for the opportunities to try to broaden this conversation and to really create a moment where we can help people broaden their horizons through the unique content we provide, to encourage discussion and debate about the important topics of today."
-- Paula Kerger, president and CEO of PBS, spoke on "America’s Largest Classroom: PBS and the Future of Educational Media" on April 22 at the Nittany Lion Inn. Kerger discussed the vital role public broadcasting plays in creating an educated citizenry through locally owned affiliates such as WPSU.
The Penn State Forum's 2014-15 season concluded with Kerger's talk. Planning is underway for the 2015-16 Forum lineup. Suggestions for speakers can be submitted to coordinator Lindsey Whissel at lrw14@psu.edu.