David Giovannoni ’76 has been cited as one of the most influential researchers and theorists in the history of public radio. He credits University of the Pacific with giving him the knowledge, skills, and values to succeed.

This spring, he and his wife Kathy Sheram established the Giovannoni Family Endowed Scholarship, supporting students at Benerd College. While he himself graduated from College of the Pacific, Giovannoni’s gift to Benerd honors his family and the value they’ve always placed on education. The gift also recognizes the impact of educating educators. 

“Benerd is where teachers are taught,” he said. “For every student our scholarship supports, many others will receive the benefits of an education.”

Giovannoni’s gift began as a $5,000 stock purchase that had appreciated ten-fold. Pacific’s Powell Match doubled the gift, further multiplying its impact. 

“Pacific helped turn a modest investment into a $100,000 endowment, giving thousands of dollars to a student each year. That’s a powerful return,” he said.

Enthralled by music since childhood, Giovannoni chose Pacific because of its liberal arts core and for KUOP, its public radio station. Alongside an ambitious course load, he spent uncounted hours in KUOP’s studios honing the crafts of audio production and presentation.

He began his career at NPR, where he and Kathy met. He created Audience Research Analysis (ARA), a company that has served public radio with innovative and essential management data for nearly 50 years. His work influences radio programming, policy, and the noncommercial system’s ability to support itself financially.

“Our research helps make public broadcasting a better, indeed a vital public service,” he said. “That focus on public service stems from core values instilled in me at Pacific.”

Since retiring from ARA, Giovannoni has pursued his passion for historic sound recordings. He cofounded the First Sounds initiative, which rewrote the history books when it discovered and played back the world’s first sound recordings, made twenty years before Thomas Edison invented the phonograph.

His ongoing historical CD reissues and album notes have been recognized with nine Grammy nominations and one Grammy award.

The Library of Congress has requested, and is receiving, his personal library of more than 50,000 pioneer sound recordings. The entire collection can be heard at i78s.org.

Learning and teaching are threads interwoven throughout Giovannoni’s career. “A researcher must explain how his findings inform his client’s endeavors,” he said. “I was both an investigator and an instructor, guiding managers to appropriate decisions and mentoring a new generation of industry leaders.”

Giovannoni has received public radio’s highest honors, including the Edward R. Murrow Award. In 2009 the Pacific Alumni Association honored him with its Distinguished Professional Service Award. 

The first Giovannoni Family Scholarship was awarded this fall. Giovannoni eagerly anticipates the day his recipients graduate and start to make their impact in the world. 

Regarding his own impact, he is humble. “Pacific instilled a set of skills and values that helped me do well by doing good. Supporting students takes that ethos of service to a new level. I’m grateful for the opportunity,” he said.