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WT Student Radio Station KWTS 91.1 to Celebrate 50th Anniversary; Details—Including Format Change—to Be Announced During April 8 Broadcast
Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, cchandler@wtamu.edu
CANYON, Texas — A West Texas A&M University institution turns 50 this year, and it’s getting a facelift.
KWTS The One 91.1 will celebrate its golden anniversary with an Oct. 1 bash during Homecoming Week, which will run Sept. 26 to Oct. 1.
Details about the birthday party and a format change for the longtime college rock station will be shared between 7 and 9 p.m. April 8 during “Psychotic Reaction,” a weekly radio show hosted by Dr. Marty Kuhlman, WT’s Jenny Lind Porter Professor of History.
Between songs that first hit charts in 1972, Kuhlman will be joined by KWTS adviser Randy Ray, director of broadcast engineering and associate lecturer of media communications, to kick off the birthday celebration.
“KWTS has been educating students for 50 years, and having a campus radio station is a privilege that many universities don’t have,” Ray said. “For five decades, WT media students have gotten hands-on experience running the station, learning along the way just what a big responsibility it is to work in broadcast media.”
The station, a noncommercial rock station, officially launched at 3 p.m. April 12, 1972. It upgraded to 100 watts in 1982, then to 6,000 watts in 1998.
Ten students currently work as DJs or engineers at the station.
In addition to six weekly shows devoted to country music, Tejano, K-pop and more, the station hosts Live Lounge and One Sessions live concerts, posts podcasts, and provides music at tailgate and other on- and off-campus events.
Kuhlman started his classic rock show in 1998 with Dr. Bruce Brasington, WT’s Twanna Caddell Powell Professor of History, and has hosted it solo since 2007.
Meeting regional needs by providing noncommercial radio and training future broadcasters and engineers is a key component of the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.
That plan is fueled by the historic, $125 million One West comprehensive fundraising campaign. To date, the five-year campaign — which publicly launched Sept. 23 — has raised about $108 million.
About West Texas A&M University
WT is located in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. WT, a Hispanic Serving Institution since 2016, boasts an enrollment of about 10,000 and offers 59 undergraduate degree programs, 39 master’s degrees and two doctoral degrees. The University is also home to the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, the largest history museum in the state and the home of one of the Southwest’s finest art collections. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 14 men’s and women’s athletics programs.
—WT—