DePauw Stories

William Carroll ’73 has made a gift supporting a high-definition upgrade to the Pulliam Center for Contemporary Media. Carroll, who spent many hours as a student DJ and was WGRE station manager during his senior year, wants to encourage students to learn and participate in communication and media arts. He made the gift in honor of communication professor Jeff McCall ’76. (above: Bill Carroll at WGRE in 1972.)

“Jeff and I were fraternity brothers at DePauw and both worked in radio for WGRE,” Carroll says. “I truly appreciate the things Jeff has done for communications and the student radio station during his 35 years teaching at DePauw. Campus radio is an interesting and difficult endeavor, and I’m grateful for the opportunities I had at DePauw and the efforts Jeff and the university have made to keep WGRE and student media going all these years and into the future.”

Says McCall: “DePauw students who engage with WGRE-FM learn a lot about how media outlets work and about themselves. These students become more media literate, a trait that benefits both those who go into communication careers and those who go into other careers as well. It has been my privilege over the years to see students grow in their leadership skills and self-expression abilities through participation in WGRE. A real key for why so many students get involved in WGRE and the other student media outlets is that they can learn in a cocurricular context and have fun doing it." (above: Prof. Jeff McCall ’76.)

 Approaching its 30th year, the Pulliam Center requires a significant investment from alumni and friends to reestablish its cutting-edge status. Success in the first phase of a fundraising initiative for the center will convert the center from standard definition to high-definition technology. The second phase of the fundraising initiative will build an endowment for the center to ensure future resources for its television studios, WGRE radio, The DePauw newspaper, the Media Fellows program, a digital photography studio, video editing bays, the literary journal and more. Those interested in making contributions or learning more about the campaign may contact the university’s Development and Alumni Engagement Division at  annualgiving@depauw.edu or 765-658-4085.