Nomination of R. Kenneth Towery To Be a Member of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting

The President today announced his intention to nominate R. Kenneth Towery to be a member of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for a term expiring March 26, 1991. This is a reappointment.

Since 1979 Mr. Towery has been president of the Sentinel Corp., a consulting firm in Austin, TX, that he founded. Previously, Mr. Towery was assistant to the chancellor, the University of Texas system, from 1976 to 1979; Assistant Director and Deputy Director of the United States Information Agency in 1969-1976; press secretary and then administrative assistant to Sen. John Tower in 1963-1969; Capitol correspondent with Newspapers, Inc., in 1956- 1963; and a reporter and managing editor for Cuero Daily Record, a small newspaper in Cuero, TX, in 1951-1956. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1955 for a series of stories exposing fraud and corruption in the Texas Veterans Land Program.

He entered the U.S. Army during World War II and served in the Philippines where he was captured and was a POW for 31/2 years. He was awarded the Purple Heart, the Presidential Unit Citation with two Oak Leaf Clusters, and other decorations. He graduated from Southwest Texas Junior College and attended Texas A&M University.

Mr. Towery is married, has two children, and resides in Austin, TX. He was born January 25, 1923, in Smithville, MS.