Summer 2005 - John Brown University

A Gift thatGives to theGiverYour money can work for you andJBU at the same time. When yougive a Charitable Gift AnnuitytoJBU, you:Receive a fixed income for lifeEnjoy potential tax benefitsHelp provide a life–changingChristian education for JBUstudentsIf you’re age 55 or older and wouldlike more information aboutCharitable Gift Annuities or otherways to support JBU financially,contact your Regional Director ofDevelopment or call:Paul J. Eldridge, J.D.1-800-446-2450 or1-479-524-7468peldridge@jbu.eduRadio Days, cont. from page 11Resource Center on campus,started in 1983 after JBU spentthree years petitioning the FCC fora license. The 100-watt FM stationbegan at 90.3 on the dial withcoverage of the greater SiloamSprings area, and was developedas another training station forstudents. In 1988 the frequencywas changed to 101.1 and thewattage raised to 3,000. In 1990the station raised its power to6,000 watts to serve more of theNorthwest Arkansas area, and thisyear, KLRC improved its signal toBentonville and Bella Vista byrelaying its signal to 99.1 FM inBentonville.Josh Bentley ’02, KLRC ProductionDirector, says, “Over thecourse of a week, KLRC has approximately35,000 listeners whotune in to the station.” In additionto its local audience, KLRC debuteda live Internet feed in 2000that can be listened to anywherein the world. The station has alsowon national recognition for itsprogramming in the past severalyears, including the Gospel MusicAssociation’s Small Market RadioStation of the Year Award for 2001and 2002.In light of JBU’s long relationshipwith radio broadcasting, itmay seem ironic that, over theyears, JBU has sold nearly everyone of its stations. After the saleof KFPW in 1929, John Brown Sr.purposefully acquired stations.Then, as the JBU presidency wastransitioning from John Brown Jr.to John Brown III in the late 1970s,the JBU board of trustees thoughtit best to sell many of JBU’s radioassets to increase the university’sendowment. In the next ten years,JBU sold six of its stations, concludingwith the sale of KGER in1988. The strategic sell-off, whichJohn Brown Jr. describes as “at theheight of the market,” proved avaluable move for the university,adding $17.5 million to the endowment.In 2005, JBU sold Siloam Springsstation KUOA, its last commercialstation, citing practical, financial,and mission-related reasons.The AM station was strugglingfinancially and drawing resourcesfrom the university endowment;moreover, it had not been a regularpart of the educational program ofJBU for over 30 years. Regretfullybut unanimously, the board oftrustees approved pursuing a saleof the station in October 2004,and that sale was consummated atthe end of March, 2005.Today, JBU focuses its broadcastenergies on just two stations,KLRC and Q16, which continueto broadcast religious programmingand provide learning opportunitiesto students just as theirpredecessors had done. The JBUcommunity still benefits from theradio stations of the past, as well,with the profits from their salescontributing significantly to thehealth of JBU’s endowment. Eachyear, the endowment provides crucialfunds for the university’s operatingbudget and supports currentstudents through institutional financialaid programs.Almost since the founding ofJBU, radio has served the university.JBU stations trained hundredsof students who are now involvedin radio broadcasting around theworld. Radio programs broughtnew students and donors into theJBU family. The university’s radioinvestments gave JBU a financialfoundation from which the entirecampus community will benefitfor decades to come. Thanksto John Brown Sr.’s timely insightinto the power of radio, JBU hasgrown into the nationally recognizedinstitution we know today,and it is poised to continue reachingthe world. ■For more JBU history, visit the JBU archives on the web atwww.jbu.edu/library/archives/index.asp20 John Brown Bulletin Summer 2005