Friends of WHUS

In an email to the staff and at a meeting September 12, long-time WHUS General Manager John Murphy announced his departure from that position, effective August 25. Due to structural changes regarding the relationship between WHUS and the University of Connecticut that have been in the works for the last 14 months, the “General Manager” position has been eliminated and replaced by the “Program Coordinator” position. The new “Program Coordinator,” Valerie Turco, starts at WHUS on September 23.

In John’s 33 years of service as WHUS’s General Manager, he has no doubt touched many of your lives as he has touched mine. I think it’s only fair to John to say here that this change was not in accordance with his wishes. He was hoping to finish his career at WHUS as the Program Coordinator, and though it saddens me, that’s not what transpired through the UConn/WHUS Search Committee process.

John Murphy in 2009

As I wrote last week in an email to the WHUS staff, in my view, John’s most important legacy is a radio station whose essence is so ingrained in all its parts that it may not need a charismatic leader such as himself to continue to thrive. And it should also be said that John is not “gone” from WHUS. He plans to stay on and continue to broadcast and volunteer on the staff.

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WHUS has won the Best College Radio Station award this year from the Hartford Advocate, an accolade they have received for each year since 2002, save 2006 when WWUH at the University of Hartford took the award, the Advocate announced in its issue Monday.

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On Saturday, February 19, Ernie Adamo (’88) stopped by Storrs with his 9-year-old daughter to see the UConn Women take on Notre Dame. He came up a little bit early to take a tour of WHUS’s new studios at the Student Union. Ernie, who was Chief Announcer at WHUS from 1990-2000, hadn’t seen the new studios since the Student Union was renovated and was impressed to see the old LP library had made it through the move.

If you’re in the area, or would like to plan to be, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us here at Friends of WHUS. We’d love to arrange to show you around!

Friends of WHUS, Inc., the non-profit organization of alumni and friends of WHUS, is excited to welcome Steve Wolfberg (CLAS 1981) to its board of directors. Steve is currently the Partner/President of Cronin & Company, LLC, Connecticut’s top full-service independent advertising agency and Top 10 in New England.

Steve was very involved in the station as a student during the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, holding not only numerous management positions (Publicity Director, Program Director and Business Manager), but hosting “Wake Up With Wolfie,” which, at its peak of popularity, boasted an audience of 14 listeners.

Founded in 1947, Cronin and Company, LLC is a full-service marketing communications firm with offices in Glastonbury, CT and Albany, NY.  National brand clients include Amica Insurance, Humana, Konica Minolta, Benihana and Amerifit Brands. The agency’s integrated marketing communications capabilities include: advertising, interactive, public relations, social media, strategic planning, media and analytics, print and broadcast production, database/direct marketing and research.

Of his election to the Friends of WHUS, Inc. board of directors, Steve said, “I am very excited to become a part of such a young and vibrant organization and I really look forward to helping shepherd its growth.”

“We are extremely delighted to welcome Steve to our board. He is smart and energetic and will provide a unique perspective and experience to our organization,” said Friends of WHUS, Inc. co-founder and president Ben Shaiken.

More information about Cronin & Company, LLC can be found at http://cronin-co.com.

To view the full press release, click here.

On September 23-26, a group of WHUS alumni from the 50s and 60s got together at the Hilton Garden Inn in Glastonbury. On the 25th, Secretary/Treasurer Ben Shaiken, WHUS General Manager John Murphy and Chief Operator JZ gave them a tour of the WHUS studios and tower site. Ben then joined them for dinner in Glastonbury.