COOKEVILLE – WCTE Central TN PBS welcomes Dr. Cephas N. Ablakwa Sr. as its new director of education and engagement.
The position is collaboration between WCTE PBS and the Putnam County School System to better serve the community through education and public media. Dr. Ablakwa will be responsible for creating a collaborative team-based approach that enhances community engagement and lifelong learning in the Upper Cumberland. As part of the WCTE Leadership Team, he oversees the station’s partnership with area school systems, businesses, and community groups with a “cradle to career” focus on education.
He recently completed his Ph.D. in exceptional learning with a concentration in program planning and evaluation from Tennessee Tech University (TTU). He is an artist with work in Ghana, Iceland and the Upper Cumberland. He taught art at Cookeville High School for 10 years before returning to TTU to complete his doctoral work. Ablakwa said his focus at WCTE PBS is “to create a culture of curiosity among all ages and enhance the value of education in the Upper Cumberland through public media.”
Ablakwa emigrated from Accra, Ghana to Nashville, where he graduated from high school. Since starting at WCTE, he has been accepted into the competitive PBS Data Literacy Program. He lives in Cookeville with his wife and two-year-old son.
WCTE has served the Upper Cumberland for more than 40 years as the regions premier storyteller and is the only television station in a 75-mile radius of Cookeville making it a strategic partner in education, health services, government, arts and music. WCTE is a 501(c) 3 and is owned and operated by the Upper Cumberland Broadcast Council. WCTE is one of only 350 PBS member stations nationwide.
