NEWS                                                         March 24, 1997

         HELENA MITCHELL TO BECOME "EMINENT SCHOLAR FOR DISTANCE
                LEARNING" UNDER GEORGIA RESEARCH ALLIANCE

     Dr. Helena Mitchell, Associate Chief, Strategic Communications, for the Office of
Engineering and Technology, is leaving the Commission to become the "Eminent Scholar for
Distance Learning" under the Georgia Research Alliance (GRA).

    GRA represents a partnership between the state's research universities, the business
community and state government.  Helena's position is a joint academic appointment between
Clark Atlantic University and Georgia Institute of Technology.  In her new position, she will
play the leading role in developing and carrying out a research program in distance learning
to improve educational telecommunications development in the state.

    Helena has been Associate Chief in OET for two years and before that headed the
Commission's EBS team.  She wrote major rulemakings that expanded EBS to include cable,
satellite and advanced communications systems.  Her work resulted in the adoption of the
new Emergency Alert System.  Under her leadership, the EAS team was named Exemplary
Organization of the Year in 1994.

    Before  coming to the Commission she was Director of the Office of Television and
Radio at Rutgers University.  She has also been Vice President for Corporate Development
for a Toronto, Canada, company and was with the Department of Commerce as Director of
Telecommunications Development for NTIA.  She has also held several broadcast
management positions.

    Helena is a graduate of S.U.N.Y. at Brockport in secondary education, has an M.S.
from Syracuse University and a Ph.D. from Syracuse in Telecommunications Policy
(technology utilization and telecom law).  

                                  - FCC -