STANFILL STEPS DOWN, SMEBY STEPS IN AT KCET

Dennis Stanfill, who took the helm at KCET when it was sinking in a sea of red ink four years ago and steered the public television station back to financial stability, stepped down Thursday as chairman of Channel 28’s board of directors.

Kyhl S. Smeby, executive vice president of Bank of America and a member of the KCET board for the past nine years, was elected to succeed Stanfill in the nonsalaried chairman’s job.

“I am one who believes that public broadcasting is a cultural asset and something that should be perpetuated, and for that reason it is a special interest of mine,” Smeby said.

He said his goal is to see the PBS station again become a regular supplier of the high-quality, important programs for which it was once known--”but only,” he added, reflective of his experiences with the station’s recent history, “at the time that our finances will permit it.”

Stanfill, a former chairman of 20th Century Fox who now heads his own investment firm, Stanfill Bowen & Co. Inc., said his tenure as KCET chairman “is one of the most gratifying things I’ve ever been involved in.” He will continue to serve on the board of directors, as he has since 1970.

When he took the job in January, 1982, the station was $5.5 million in debt, was scrambling to meet its payroll and was facing the threat of foreclosure by its banks. Under his direction, KCET began a series of belt-tightening measures that included severe cutbacks in programming and personnel. The board forced the resignation of James L. Loper as president and replaced him with William Kobin in January, 1983.

Today, station spokesmen say the debt stands at $288,000 and is due to be paid off in October. KCET has finished the last three years in the black, its budget has grown steadily (to $23.7 million this year), and it has resumed an active production schedule of both local and national programs.

In an interview Thursday, Stanfill was modest about the role he played in the station’s resurrection and expressed gratitude “for all that has been accomplished by so many people.”

“They asked me to lend a hand, and I did,” he said of his part. “It is very satisfying to be able to participate and see it come out so well.”

Others, however, didn’t hesitate to give Stanfill credit.

“I truly believe that it would have taken KCET a lot longer to recover if Dennis hadn’t been here,” said Donald Youpa, KCET’s senior vice president for marketing and development. “It would have been a much more painful experience. To our nonprofit organization he brought a very hard, cold business perspective--saying, ‘This is what we’ve got to do to turn it around.’ ”

Stanfill’s own standing in the financial community also bought KCET time with its creditors and major supporters, Youpa said.

David Crippens, vice president of KCET’s educational division, praised Stanfill for his leadership. “He had a passion and a vision about KCET,” he said. “He knew we were going to make this place solvent, and he would not brook any discussion to the contrary. His faith and devotion to the station never wavered. He knew what the place should be and he was not going to let us fall down.”

Kobin said the progress and growth that KCET has experienced since he arrived--in everything from viewer support to programming and audience--”wouldn’t have been possible without his (Stanfill’s) strong leadership.” He called Stanfill “probably the best leader I’ve ever worked for.”

Stanfill had announced his intention to step down as chairman several months ago, allowing the board time to pick a successor. He said he decided to give up the post “because I think it is healthy for there to be a turnover in board membership and leadership.”

Smeby, his successor, has served as chairman of the KCET board’s finance committee since 1984 and also played an important role during the station’s 1982 financial crisis, joining in the board’s effort to raise emergency funds to keep the station operating.

“Certainly it’s my dedication, and that of several others, that that shall never happen again,” he declared in an interview Thursday. He said the station is living within its means and praised the professionalism of its management team.

Smeby has been with Bank of America since 1939. In 1980 he was promoted to his present position from which he oversees the bank’s civic, cultural, charitable and governmental affairs in Southern California. He also is chief financial officer of the Greater Los Angeles Visitors and Convention Bureau, a director of the California Museum of Science and Industry and a governor of the Performing Arts Council of the Music Center.

In addition to electing Smeby chairman, KCET’s board of directors also elected two new vice chairmen Thursday: Robert Wycoff, president of Atlantic Richfield Co., and Virginia May Ramo. They join E. Eric Johnson in that position. Carol Connell, who also had been a vice chairman, was named vice chair emeritus.