Frischknecht, Lee C. (Lee Conrad), 1928-2004

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Lee Conrad Frischknecht, 76, former president of National Public Radio, died December 29, 2004, in Logan, Utah, from complications of Alzheimer's disease.

He was born Jan. 4, 1928, in Brigham City, Utah, to Carl O. and Geniel (Lund) Frischknecht. He graduated from Logan High School and received his bachelor's degree from Utah State and master's from Michigan State. He served in the U.S. Army from 1946 to 1948 in the occupation of Japan after World War II. A lifelong member of LDS Church, he married Sara Jean McCulloch in the Logan Temple on Sept. 3, 1948.

Lee was a pioneer in public broadcasting and his career was dedicated to its growth. He started as a radio announcer at KID-AM/FM in Idaho Falls, Idaho. When he returned to graduate school, he began working his way up the ladder at WMSB-TV in East Lansing, Mich., from video cameraman in 1954 to station general manager in 1960. In 1963, he joined National Educational Television in New York City as director of station relations. In 1968, at a friend's request, he returned to Utah State as director of university relations and special educational services. In 1970, at another friend's request, he joined the fledgling NPR in Washington as director of network affairs and later as vice president. In 1973, he was elevated to NPR president and served there for four years. In 1980, he moved to Tempe, Ariz., and joined Arizona State University's PBS affiliate, KAET-TV. At ASU, he founded Arizona School Services through Educational Technology (ASSET) and helped establish the classical radio station KBAQ before his retirement in 1993. He returned to Logan in 2003 to spend his final years.

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Lee C. Frischknecht spent his professional life in educational and public broadcasting. In 1964, he joined National Educational Television as its Director of Field Services. There, he coordinated relations with individual stations and aided in organizing the technical operations. Six years later, after overseeing the University of Utah's radio and television station, Frischknecht joined National Public Radio as Director of Network Affairs, performing many of the same functions he had at NET. In 1972, he became NPR's vice president, with duties of corporate and long-range planning. He became president in 1973, focusing most of his efforts on relations with member stations, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and Congress. After leaving NPR in 1978 for many consulting projects, Frischknecht joined Arizona State University's station KAET in 1980 as Education Telecommunications Manager. There, he administered all educational and instructional facets of the station's operations until he retired in 1993. He died in 2005. The collection documents Frischknecht's work in public broadcasting from his early work with NET through his tenure at NPR, and ending with his work at KAET.