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.
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