Hillsdale’s student radio station will host an open house for its new facility on Tuesday, welcoming the whole campus to see the expanded space.
The open house will showcase the new WRFH Radio Free Hillsdale studio on Aug. 29 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Stanton Foundation Center for American Classical Education, formerly known as the Mauck School.
The station has been operating in the Stanton Center since early August.
“I think that any student, freshman or otherwise, will be impressed by the new facility,” said Scot Bertram, general manager of WRFH. “Sure, it might make someone a little more likely to give radio and audio a try, given the technology now available in the studios. However, we’ve always had a core of dedicated students who work incredibly hard at creating top-notch content.”
The new location features a space approximately four times the size of the previous Knorr Student Center location. It includes three recording and broadcasting studios, a control room, and a meeting area.
“It was important that we designed the floorplan ourselves and had professional audio engineers on campus to install and set up our studios,” Bertram said. “This gives WRFH the ability to do more complex and professional-grade broadcasts.”
WRFH’s new headquarters feature a combination of new, upgraded, and original equipment, according to Bertram. A large amount of the new equipment was donated a few years ago by Fox News television host Laura Ingraham.
“I’m very excited about the controlled environment and the space that has been specifically designed for recording and editing audio,” senior producer and junior Gavin Listro said. “I think it will really step up the quality and clarity of our production.”
The station airs original student shows and live sports broadcasts as well as college content and syndicated programs featuring Hugh Hewitt and Dennis Prager.
“We always need new students to get involved,” said Director of the Dow Journalism Program John J. Miller. “This is a great time of year to start.”
WRFH production director and junior Megan Pidcock said she hopes the studio will help establish a stronger radio team for the years to come.
“Though the studio is farther from campus, I’m hoping that having a dedicated space for people to come and prepare there without the distractions at the previous location can foster a more united group, which in turn will lead to more growth,” Pidcock said. “I hope the meeting room especially can lead to more crossover between people coming in and out.”
Until the move this summer, the Knorr Student Center has been the only location of the radio station since its founding year in 2016.
“It was bittersweet to watch the old station slowly emptied over the summer as I was this year’s summer radio intern, just because of the memories and laughs held there,” Pidcock said. “However, this is such an important next step in growing the station, and I’m very excited to see where and how it grows.”
The Princeton Review recently ranked WRFH as the twelfth best student radio station in the country. In addition, the Michigan Association of Broadcasters awarded Hillsdale with College Radio Station of the Year in 2023 and 2019.
