College of Fine and Applied Arts

Appalachian State University’s Department of Communication has received a $500,000 commitment from The Kellar Family Foundation in Alexandria, Va., to create the Kellar Radio Farm System Institute.

The program is being established as a farm system for radio broadcasters and will be directed by one of the radio industry’s top consultants, Dan “Vallie” Hill. For many years, broadcast industry members have discussed the need for an organized farm system for radio. Now, for the first time, the broadcast industry will have this innovative concept of a system that delivers talented, enthusiastic young adults qualified to excel in radio stations and broadcast groups across America.

“There is a need to bring fresh talent into the industry at every level, to contribute to make the industry even more dynamic, and there are plenty of people in the industry that want to help young people enter the industry and be successful,” said Art Kellar, president of the Foundation. “The Foundation is interested in helping young people, primarily the underprivileged, and wants to give them the opportunity to develop.”

The Kellar Radio Farm System Institute is a 10-day summer program, set to start in the summer of 2007, designed to attract, train and create opportunity for talented students that have a passion for the broadcast industry and ownership. Those attending will be juniors and seniors with a communication major or minor.

The program will prepare students to excel in entry-level positions upon their graduation and to better insure they get a start in and have a successful career in broadcasting. The students will work through the intensive institute to gain a greater understanding of each aspect of the industry including: on air, news, writing, sales, traffic, programming, management, ownership and all other aspects of the industry. 

Art Kellar has a long history in the radio industry. Originally from Brooklyn, N.Y., he was trying to determine what he was going to do in life. One day while listening to the Arthur Godfrey Show on the radio, Godfrey had two guests on and had each of them read a commercial.

“The first one did a good job on it, the second one was terrible,” said Kellar. “I thought ‘I can do better than that.’”

He went to a broadcasting school in Chicago and from there started his first job in 1947 at a radio station in Ronceverte, W.V.

“I got off the train and walked the two blocks to the [radio] station, and when I walked inside my very first thought was ‘I’ve got to own one of these,’” he said.

He did, just eight years later, while working as sales manager for WPIK in Alexandria, Va., when he bought WEEL in Alexandria. He eventually sold that station to the LBJ family in 1972 but not before he had bought his first FM station in 1968, WEZR in Manassas, Va. That station was the beginning of EZ Communications. The company grew with purchases next in Richmond, Va., then Charlotte, N.C., New Orleans, La., and Pittsburgh, Pa. Eventually Kellar owned stations across the country from Philadelphia to Seattle.

“Broadcasters at the highest level understand the importance of bringing new talent into the industry, even so, we have never developed an organized and systemized farm system until now,” stated Hill, who now serves as general manager for WASU, Appalachian’s radio station. “I am excited that Appalachian State has embraced this innovative concept and is teaming with the industry to find, train, coach and develop fresh young talent in every area of broadcasting. I expect other leading broadcasters will want to support this innovative radio farm system as well.” 

Located in Boone, NC, Appalachian State University enrolls more than 14,000 students, offers 91 undergraduate and 81 graduate majors and is a member institution of the University of North Carolina System. The Department of Communication serves more than 800 students and is the second largest major on campus. 

For more information about Appalachian, visit www.appstate.edu. For more information about the Kellar Farm System Institute, contact Dr. Glenda Treadaway, communication chair, at (828) 262-2221 or treadwaygj@appstate.edu.

Several changes have been made to the curriculum in Appalachian State University’s Department of Technology in response to needs expressed by students, recent graduates and members of the industries served by the department. 

The university’s Bachelor of Science in Industrial Technology, Industrial Drafting and Design has been revised to a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Design with two concentrations in Furniture Design and Product Design, effective fall 2006. 

The change in the furniture studies program is the result of the shift from manufacturing to design expressed as a need by area furniture manufacturers. This move will prepare students to work in the ever-changing industry and remain competitive with the trend to move furniture production to offshore manufacturing facilities. 

In addition, the Bachelor of Science in Industrial Technology, Construction, has been changed to a Bachelor of Science in Building Sciences with concentrations in Architectural Technology and Design and Construction Management. 

The two concentrations are designed to provide a focus for the program in key areas. The Construction Management track has been the primary concentration since the major began. Approximately 200 undergraduate students are currently seeking majors in this field of study. Major national employers in residential and commercial construction seek out Appalachian students for careers with their firms. 

The architectural technology concentration will allow students to explore their interest in architecture, working with architects on the faculty. The program includes a full array of coursework in construction management. Graduates can work for general contractors, architectural firms or other design or construction-related companies, or can pursue a Masters in Architecture degree. This program is effective fall 2006. 

The Interior Design program curriculum has seen a complete revision to qualify for Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA). The program now has a professional, studio-based curriculum. Students begin studio in the first year of the program and will be subject to several portfolio reviews throughout their course of study. 

For more information about these changes or the new programs, contact the Department of Technology at 828-262-3110 or visit http://www.tec.appstate.edu/. 

The Department of Communication has implemented admissions requirements for students interested in declaring any Communication major beginning with the fall 2007 enrollment.

Criteria for admission will include overall grade point average and the grade received in the Foundations of Human Communication (COM 1200) course.

The number of students admitted each semester into the program will be based on the number of openings available in each major. Openings are determined by the resources available to the department such as laboratories and equipment. Any student not accepted can reapply the next semester and may take up to 18 credits before being admitted into the major.

“I hope that resources will catch up with student demand and no student will have to be denied entrance to the major,” said Dr. Glenda Treadaway, Communication Department chair.  “But at the moment we do not have the necessary equipment and technology to provide a quality education to all of the students who would like to major in communication. We would be cheating them of the quality education they deserve and need to be successful in the communication field.”

For more information, contact the Department of Communication at (828)262-2221.

Lt. Col. Douglas G. Jett Sr., right, pins first lieutenant bars on Paul B. Hargrove. (Photo courtesy of the Department of Military Science and Leadership)

Paul B. Hargrove of Crouse has been promoted to first lieutenant in the U.S. Army.

Hargrove served as the Gold Bar Recruiter for Appalachian State University’s ROTC program. He worked with recruiting operations officer Maj. Robert Gibbard to recruit other prospective students into the program.

1st Lt. Hargrove received his commission as a second lieutenant from Valley Forge Military College in Wayne, Pa. He served with 113th Field Artillery Brigade in Winston-Salem and Charlotte while completing his degree requirements at Appalachian.  He graduated in May with a degree in history.

1st Lt. Hargrove was branched to the U.S. Army Transportation Corps and will attend training at Fort Benning, Ga., and Fort Eustis, Va., in August. 

NBC17’s Frank Graff visits Boone to talk about initiatives in wind energy and alternative energy research at Appalachian. Thanks to NBC17 for providing the clips.

http://www.nbc17.com/video/9215788/detail.html http://www.nbc17.com/video/9215753/detail.html