credit. John Baxter, as a result of this effort, spent year in Brazil for the Ford Foundation
and also went to India. There was a great surge. Governor LeRoy Collins thought that
educational television was going to be the solution to a lot of our teaching problems. But
with the passage of time, it just sort of faded away. It is just one of those things--I do not
know if it has ever been carefully analyzed as to why that happened, but it happened. The
programming of WUFT is quite different than it was in its beginning.

B: Looking at the original concepts of WUFT and educational television, did you think that
WUFT was meeting the role laid down by the Board of Control when they authorized
University of Florida Television?

R: Frankly, I do not recall just what the role was that was laid down by the Board. It was
probably one, though, that we wanted to make as great a use of it as possible as an
instructional device. That was probably inherent in it, and probably the most motivating
force in our getting state funds to the extent that we were able to get them. If that was the
chief function as laid down by the Board, then the program has changed tremendously.

B: You mentioned funding. Was funding of WUFT a problem for you as university
president? And did some of the funding come from other than regular budgeting, such as
budget items for other departments, or discretionary funds?

R: In those days, budgeting and getting funds was a difficult proposition regardless, but
particularly for something that was new. I presume that we got some state funds, possibly
we had some allocated through our discretionary funds, and I believe we also got some
funding from the Ford Foundation in the initial phases--particularly for equipment. This I am
not sure of.

B: As an educator, do you think that WUFT could better serve the needs of the Florida
public and university during the early period and now? And if so, how?

R: When you consider the way it has evolved and the shift away from direct
instruction--which was contemplated--I think it is now more responsive to the general
wishes, desires, and market demand of the listening public than was the original design. I
do not listen to it a great deal, but I listen to public television a great deal more than any
other station, and it seems to me that WUFT has done a good job of meeting the needs of
the people from what you might call a general education--a general extension-type of
function--a service function of the university to the general public, rather than being an
instructional arm to students. Perhaps the latter--being an instructional arm to
students--could be given some further review here after twenty-five years to see if we may
have neglected an opportunity. I do not know. I know that there has been this transition
and I know that the general public supports it. In terms of high-quality programming where
you do not have to put up with a lot of advertising--most of advertising is just such
nonsense anyway--people appreciate and like this type of programming. It is a laudable
function that the university is rendering. The only thing I would suggest is to take another
look at it as an instructional factor to undergraduate and graduate students.