"The establishment here, of what I believe is the first video department and continuous video program at any public museum in the United States, in March 1972 came as a result of my early conversations with Nam June Paik, with Frank Gilette and later with the museum's curator of video arts, David Ross. Ross began planning the department roughly 6 months before it was actually established. It's basic idea was that of providing artists with access to the form. He went on to develop an exhibition format for video art, a small archive, a community oriented education program, and an initial plan for promoting the museum's participation in the cable TV system, to be established in Syracuse during the next few years. A substantial donation from the Rosamond Gifford Foundation provided the basic hardware for the Department". - James Harithas, catalog for Work from the Experimental Television Center, September 1972.