The UH Board of Regents approved purchasing Rice University’s student-run radio station, 91.7 FM KTRU, for $9.5 million with a 4-3 vote at its quarterly meeting Tuesday.
“Keep in mind that (the Regent’s) action authorized the chancellor to negotiate and execute a purchase agreement and management agreement to acquire KTRU,” UH Director of Media Relations Richard Bonnin said. “Those agreements have not been signed, so the transaction has not been completed.”
Upon the completion of the purchase, KTRU would be renamed KUHC and feature 24-hour classical music and arts programming on KTRU’s current frequency. The UH current radio station, KUHF, would become a 24-hour NPR news station and remain on its current frequency, 88.7 FM.
“The acquisition of a second public radio station delivers on our promise to keep the University of Houston at the forefront of creating strong cultural, educational and artistic opportunities that benefit students and the city of Houston,” UH President Renu Khator said in a statement Tuesday.
Acquiring KTRU would make UH the first university in Texas to operate two public radio stations.
“We now have the cultural assets to deliver NPR news, public affairs and classical programming to Houston 24 hours a day, placing UH in the company of an elite group of Tier One universities,” Khator said.
Some UH students applauded the purchase and acknowledged it as a step forward for the University.
“The university needs to expand its influence in the life of our students and its presence in Houston,” communication junior Elize Najm said. “This is a fantastic step in that direction.”
Others, including Rice students involved with the station, are opposed to the purchase. KTRU began as a student experiment in 1970 and has been student-run for about 40 years.
Rice President David Leebron explained his decision in a campus community letter on Tuesday.
“Our goal has been to focus on our core missions of teaching and research and, to the extent possible, to avoid layoffs,” he wrote.
The money gained from the sale would be used on campus improvements such as scholarships, facilities and student-media programs. The deal also includes paid internships for Rice students provided by KUHF.
The purchase includes the broadcast tower, FM frequency and license used by KTRU and will be 100 percent financed by KUHF’s expanded underwriting program from business, industry, private donations and fundraising. No university funds will be used.
The deal requires further approval from the Federal Communications Commission.
I am a UH grad, and I can tell you that the way this has been handled is a black eye to both universities. I oppose UH buying KTRU, epescially because it was done in secrecy, and Rice students and alumni, the Houston community was deprived of participation and input. Last time, I checked, UH is a public university, and both universities receive grant money from government sources. So you bet I expect transparency AND accountability. If the new station ever comes to pass at the destruction of KTRU from the airwaves, I wil never again support UH with one more penny; I will never attend any UH cultural or sporting event. The whole affair is just shameful. I see nothing to be proud about here, fellow Cougars. I actually feel dirty now.
Please excuse, the typos in my previous comment. I am fuming mad. My pride as a UH grad has been tarnished by the personal ambitions of a few individuals, who do not have the best interests of UH, RICE, and Houston in mind.
I am a recent UH Alum and a supporter of KTRU and KUHF. I like the idea of more classical and more NPR but I think cutting out students is a terrible idea.
This article states that having this "cultural experience" of more refined tastes will benefit students. I think a more direct benefit for students, rather than inspiring intellectual elitism (not that Rice was above that), would be to have the students involved in the station. It would be a great way for students, particularly communication students, to have job experience and promote professionalism among our student body. It would also be great to have more variety to programming, even if it stays classical. Music students could also be involved, they could share new 20th and 21st century composers. Classical music is more than the time period, it is the essence of music. With more time on the airwaves, there is more time to dedicate to variety.
As far as being more close to KTRU… I think it would be impossible for the UH student body to replicate the spirit of the station, but I think the essence can hold true. Why not allow student to be involved during late night programming? It will encourage student involvement, for which UH is in dire need, and even more on-campus events (especially considering that 91.7 is a pretty weak airwave, people would have to be more centrally located to listen). This could possibly impact the commuter attitude.
Why does UH act more like a corporation than a university? UH is my alma mater, I expect her to be more of a nourishing mother, than a harsh, money hungry, capitalistic system that denigrates student capabilities – students can help run this. Many of us are adults. If this is public and thereby funded publicly, why not allow more freedom for student involvement? Getting students involved will only inspire more desire to endow funding for possible employment for students. Anyway, I'm sure there are students who would be willing to intern for such a great opportunity to work with a radio station.
C'mon UH. Consider this.
How dare Rice University drag UH's reputation into the mud of their personal agendas. As a UH student I am appalled that my University would participate in the destruction of KTRU, a station that UH students both enjoy and participate in to a much greater degree than KUHF (there are even UH student DJ's at KTRU!). I hope on behalf of UH's good name and my fellow coogs that love KTRU, that this deal doesn't go down. More specifically, I hope UH backs out as it would go far to clear our good name.
As a graduate of the University of Houston, I am a very much disappointed in this whole affair. The manner in which this proposed sale has been handled by the Rice Administration and UH’s complicity in it has been very much outside the usual openness that we have come to expect out of both institutions. I very much hope that our Board of Regents and President Khator reconsider the vote until there is ample time for an honest and open discussion on the matter.
Wow.
So not only has KUHF never employed a single student either on radio or TV sides, or helped any student's career. Now they want to come along and destroy another student-run radio station.
Operations as usual for the Board of Regents and Renu "f*** the students" Khator. UH is going to sh!t fast under her rule.
@Alan Smythe I see you're really into fact checking. You don't know what you're talking about. There are over a dozen UH alumna and current students at the Melcher Center for Public Broadcasting. Nice try…
Community Engagement
Strange that people are looking for Rice student input into the process given the reality that Rice has been pushing their students for a decade or more to develop an audience that can be counted. Students at Rice just said…no way!
Now UH has two radio stations which is a very good thing. And both stations are one part of the UH community engagement plan that is available to read and study on the UH web site.
President Renu Khator vastly expanded community engagement efforts when she came here and formally asked the community for ideas and thoughts about the future of UH.
Now the trick for managing the new radio stations becomes how to avoid having one tiny group of students and/or faculty trying to take ownership of a UH resource they can't own. Let's not repeat the mistakes made at Rice.
Programming strategy for UH radio stations should be all about what the millions of us out here in the community want to hear. And that includes live streaming audio from the UH campus'.
The future of Houston as a major contributing city in the U.S. is closely linked to the success of the University of Houston in their efforts to educate our future leaders and engage with the Greater Houston community.
The new radio station will help with that effort.
Go Coogs and Go Coog Radio
This last part has me laughing: "The future of Houston as a major contributing city in the U.S. is closely linked to the success of the University of Houston in their efforts to educate our future leaders and engage with the Greater Houston community."
So, with 24 hours of NPR talk radio and 24 hours of classical music will accomplish this? Okay,(breating deeply and countiog to 10) @GPackwood, please put the bong down.
The truth of the matter this is more about ego-stroking on the part of UH to be able to some day say it is one of a very few tier one universities in the whole country with two radio stations.
So far, UH has not accomplished this lofty goal with one radio station. Leave KTRU alone.
I am a UH alum and I support KTRU, AS IT IS. Now keep your paws off KTRU.
What actual participation does the student body of UH actually participate in KUHF? Do the students DJ, run soundboards, assemble and execute live events on campus, or even have input on programming? Why are the UH Board of Regents approving any sale that does not benefit the students? As for the community, I see no Local Show on the current KUHF schedule and KUHF has a paid staff of over 50, as opposed to the dozens of rice students and community volunteers who have run KTRU for over 40 years.
It should also be worth mentioning that KUHF has two HD stations along with their regular FM station.
Is it really the voice of Coogs and Coog radio if no coogs are actually involved? What good is the branding of UH's name to stations that don't reflect the diverse tastes of Houston? School spirit is good, but we should be proud of our actions as a group. I am not proud that my University is killing over 40 years of independent student and community based programming.Those who have pride in being a Coog should be against this, or at the very least look a bit deeper into what is actually happening. The secrecy of the deal, and the contributions KTRU makes to everybody, not just rice students, should be noted before accepting the decisions made by the UH board of regents. Let's be proud and informed, pride should not blind us from right and wrong.
The best thing to do as UH–both as student and alum alike–is let the UH administration and regents we oppose the KTRU deal. I recommend we also contact our state representative and state senator and them know you oppose UH buying KTRU. The Texas legislature will be meeting again in January 2011. UH, as a state-supported public univrersity, that aspires to be tier one status, should not be starting a radio network gobbling up radio stations. What is next?
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There's now an online petition for UH students, alum, and anyone else not happy with the way the UH administration kept this deal a secret: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/UH-for-KTRU/