WOUB Radio marks 75 years of services to the community and university

WOUB Public Media is celebrating a major milestone. On Dec. 13, 2024, WOUB Radio will mark 75 years of being on the air.

“We are excited to celebrate the 75th anniversary of WOUB Radio,” said WOUB General Manager Mark Brewer. “We know that WOUB Radio has served as a trusted, valuable source of news and information in this community since 1949. It’s a big anniversary, and we are celebrating the past while looking forward to a bright future.”

Radio broadcasting began at Ohio University when Professors Darrel Green and Vincent Jukes, along with students in the engineering and dramatic art and speech departments, built a carrier current station out of war surplus materials and began broadcasting from the balcony of Ewing Hall. In 1948, the Ohio University trustees approved a request for a 10-watt FM station to be operated in conjunction with the existing campus station with three basic principles. The first was it should be operated on an educational, non-commercial basis. The second was it should function as a laboratory and provide practical experience for students, and the third was that the operation of the station should be controlled entirely by the University through its administrative officers and faculty. In December 1949, the station went on the air as WOUI as the first FM station on a college campus in Ohio and the third FM college station in the nation.

“Over the years we have grown significantly,” said Brewer. “In 1957, the AM station came online. And in the 1980s and 1990s, the WOUB Radio Network was created with WOUC (Cambridge), WOUL (Ironton), WOUH (Chillicothe) and WOUZ (Zanesville).”

In addition to its service to the community, WOUB has also provided experience for thousands of Ohio University students who've gone on to make names for themselves in the media industry.

WOUB will be celebrating the 75^th anniversary with alumni during Ohio University’s 2024 Homecoming festivities. It will be held on Friday, September 27 from 4:30 p.m. to midnight on the third floor of the Radio and TV Building (35 S. College Street, Athens). To register visit: https://www.givecampus.com/schools/OhioUniversity/events/woub-alumni-homecoming-reception-celebrating-75-years-of-woub-radio-and-25-seasons-of-gridiron-glory.

Learn more about WOUB.