A
$10,000 grant from Entergy will help broadcasting students at Arkansas
Tech University enjoy the benefits of a new radio studio beginning this
fall.
The funds will be used to purchase the equipment and
software necessary to operate KXRJ 91.9 FM from studios that were
constructed inside the Energy Center over the summer.
By
purchasing the equipment and software made possible through the grant
from Entergy, Arkansas Tech was able to keep the transmitter and tower
for KXRJ 91.9 FM in their current location at Witherspoon Hall.
Anthony
Caton, head of the Arkansas Tech Department of Speech, Theatre and
Journalism, estimated that the ability to keep the transmitter and tower
in their current location saved the university a minimum of $50,000 and
several months of waiting for approval from the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) to re-locate the tower.
In addition to those
savings, the grant is also beneficial because it will provide KXRJ 91.9
FM with the ability to continue to serve as a communications resource in
the event of an emergency at Arkansas Nuclear One.
The
equipment and software purchased with the Entergy funds will allow
Arkansas Nuclear One to take remote control of the radio station and
communicate instructions to the community in the event of an emergency.
Arkansas
Nuclear One and KXRJ participate in a test of the emergency
notification system each Wednesday between 10 a.m. and noon.
Arkansas Tech will begin broadcasting from the new KXRJ studios at the Energy Center on approximately Aug. 20.
The new broadcasting facilities opening this fall also include
studios for Tech TV, the student television station at Arkansas Tech.
Tech TV previously operated from studios in Crabaugh Hall.
Those attending the check presentation included (photographed from
left-to-right): Dr. Micheal Tarver, dean of the Arkansas Tech College of
Arts and Humanities; Robert Holeyfield, manager of emergency planning
at Arkansas Nuclear One; Dr. Robert C. Brown, Arkansas Tech president;
and Caton.
Click here to learn more about the Arkansas Tech Department of Speech, Theatre and Journalism.