By Ashley Fountain, Special to The Chronicle
The second annual WRHU Radio Hofstra University Hall of Fame was held Sept. 25, with five members being honorably inducted. This year’s Hall of Fame inductees include Tom Curley, Howard Liberman, George Musgrave, Bob Ring and Sue Zizza.
Marc Wiener, President of the Hofstra Radio Alumni Association welcomed the crowd and spoke with pride about the station’s evolution through the years. “WRHU is one of the few completely student run radio stations, it is a great resource for Hofstra,” said Weiner. “I would like to thank Hofstra for letting the station flourish for all these years.”
Currently, WRHU has a staff of 184 hand-picked active participants. 125 interviews were conducted before narrowing down this semester’s training class to 47 people. However, the desire to become a part of the station was evidenced by the 327 applications received this fall. WRHU general manager Bruce Avery encouraged others by informing them that radio is far from diminishing, and that the industry and the interest in radio continue to grow. “I had a goal ever since I came here, to reunite the past with the present and the future,” said Avery. “At a time where they say radio is dying, radio is evolving- it’s thriving and it’s passionate.”
Inductee Howard Liberman began his career at WVHC in the 70’s and since then his career has flourished. Working at the radio station allowed him to become a news director of Pittsburgh’s KDKA, America’s first radio station, and to become an editor, reporter and anchor for 1010 WINS. Liberman originally came to Hofstra as a chemistry major with hopes of becoming a doctor. “In a matter of a couple weeks things changed for me. I discovered I wasn’t really good at chemistry and I found WVHC,” said Liberman. Liberman currently works for the FOX Business Channel.
Inductee George Musgrave had a similar story to share with the audience. Originally coming to Hofstra as a math major, he soon realized that the radio station’s allure was contagious and promptly changed his major. Musgrave discovered WVHC in 1973 during his freshman orientation and spent his entire four years building a career as a staff engineer. “There were two problems to continuing as a math major upon arriving at Hofstra: first off calculus was a brick wall, and secondly I found the radio station,” said Musgrave. “The radio station gave me a career I never could have imagined having.” Musgrave currently works as a technical director for several shows including 20/20, Prime Time Live, Nightline and World News.
Newly hired Dean of Communications Evan Cornog attended the event and acknowledged how he views WRHU as a successful station. “After being a part of the school for a little over 2 months I have heard people say ‘you know WRHU is really a cult’. I’ve noticed it’s the power of the human voice that brings people to the station,” said Cornog. “WRHU staff does a great job working together passionately through difficult times to produce something that’s as good as you can make it.”
