FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM) — The University of Arkansas’ Pryor Center received a piece of television history on Monday (June 12), as TV station WDAF in Kansas City, Mo., donated its first live TV camera.
The RCA equipment dates back to the early 1950s is in great condition and will be permanently housed at the Pryor Center at 1 Center St. in Fayetteville.
The donation was thanks to Ben Meade and Jane Hunt Meade.
The David and Barbara Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History was started in 1999 as part of the Department of History in Fulbright College by Jeannie Whayne, professor of history and the center’s first director, according to a news release.
The initial concept came from former U.S. Sen. David Pryor and his wife, Barbara, who provided seed money in the form of a $220,000 gift.
They didn’t initially plan to have their name on the center, but a $2 million gift from the Tyson Family Foundation in 2005 created an endowment for the re-named David and Barbara Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, the release said.
