# Academy of Television Arts & Sciences

The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), also colloquially known as the Television Academy, is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the television industry in the United States. It is a 501(c)(6) non-profit organization founded in 1946, the organization presents the Primetime Emmy Awards, an annual ceremony honoring achievement in U.S. primetime television.

## History

Syd Cassyd considered television a tool for education and envisioned an organization that would act outside the "flash and glamor" of the industry and become an outlet for "serious discussion" and award the industry's "finest achievements". Envisioning a television counterpart of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Cassyd founded the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in 1946 in conjunction with leaders of the early television industry who had gathered at a meeting he organized.
Cassyd's academy in Los Angeles merged with a New York academy founded by Ed Sullivan in 1955 to form the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. The Los Angeles chapter broke away from NATAS in 1977, keeping the Primetime and Los Angeles Emmys.
In 2014, alongside its Hall of Fame induction ceremony and announced plans to expand its headquarters, the organization announced that it had changed its public brand to the Television Academy, with a new logo designed by Siegel + Gale. The new branding was intended to downplay the organization's antiquated formal name in favor of a more straightforward identity, and features a separating line (typically used to separate the organization's wordmark from a simplified image of the Emmy Award statuette) used to symbolize a screen, and also portrayed as a "portal".
In 2016, producer Hayma Washington was elected chairman and CEO of the Academy of Arts and Sciences, becoming the first African-American to hold the position.

## Emmy Award

In 1949, the Television Academy held the first Emmy Awards ceremony, an annual event created to recognize excellence in U.S. television programming, although the initial event was restricted to programming from the Los Angeles area. The name "Emmy" was derived from "Immy", a nickname for the image orthicon camera tube, which aided the progress of modern television. The word was feminized as "Emmy" to match the statuette, which depicted a winged woman holding an atom.

## Sister organizations

The Emmy Awards are administered by three sister organizations that focus on various sectors of television programming: the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (primetime), the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (daytime, sports, news and documentary), and the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (international). The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences also presents the Los Angeles Emmy Awards.

## Publications and programs

In addition to recognizing outstanding programming through its Primetime Emmy Awards, the Television Academy publishes the award-winning emmy magazine and through the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation, is responsible for the Archive of American Television, annual College Television Awards, Fred Rogers Memorial Scholarship, acclaimed student internships and other educational outreach programs.

## Current governance

* Frank Scherma (Chairman and CEO)
* Sharon Lieblein, CSA (Vice Chair)
* Rickey Minor (Second Vice Chair)
* Ann Leslie Uzdavinis (Treasurer)
* Allison Binder (Secretary)
* Casey Bloys (Chair's Appointee)
* George Cheeks (Chair's Appointee)
* Pearlena Igbokwe (Chair's Appointee)
* Gloria Calderón Kellett (Chair's Appointee)
* Lisa Nishimura (Chair's Appointee)
* Zack Van Amburg (Chair's Appointee)
* Eddie Bonin (Governors' Appointee)
* Debra Curtis (Governors' Appointee)
* Jill Dickerson (Governors' Appointee)
* Troy Underwood (Governors' Appointee)
* Cris Abrego (Chair, Television Academy Foundation)

### Board of Governors
## Hall of Fame

The Television Academy Hall of Fame was founded by a former president of the ATAS, John H. Mitchell (1921–1988), to honor individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to U.S. television. Inductions are not held every year.