Bruce L. Christensen

Bruce L. Christensen (MSJ69) is a member of the inaugural class of the Medill Hall of Achievement of 1997.

In Christensen’s 50-year career, he served as CEO of PBS and as dean of the Brigham Young University College of Fine Arts and Communications.

Christensen began his career as a reporter working for KSL in 1965. He later worked for BYU University relations and then as general manager of the University of Utah’s KUED-TV and KUER-FM.

Christensen moved to Washington, D.C., to serve as president of the National Association of Public Television Stations and then became CEO of PBS in 1984 for nine years. During his tenure, a number of programs and series, including The Civil War, Eyes on the Prize, The MacNeil/Lehrer News Hour, as well as half a dozen children’s programs, were developed.

In 1993, he left PBS to serve as the dean of the Brigham Young University College of Fine Arts and Communications, a title he held until 2005. Christensen joined Bonneville Broadcasting and became President of KSL radio and television and eventually all Bonneville broadcast properties in Salt Lake City. He retired in 2009.
In retirement, he served as interim dean at Utah Valley University’s School of the Arts.