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DEPARTMENT ALUMNI PAGE
Our department has a rich history dating back to 1928. In 1937 Hugh Gillis became chair of what was called the Speech Arts Department. In 1942 that name was changed to the Department of Speech and Drama. In 1963, Speech and Drama split into two departments. Speech became Communication Studies, and in 1975 Drama became Theatre Arts. In May, 2000, the name was changed to Television, Radio, Film and Theatre. Our history is managed by Dr. Kenneth Dorst, Professor Emeritus and official historian/archivist of our department. Read Bob Jenkins' History of the Department.
Dear Distinguished Alumnus,
This is my second letter to you as the Chair of the Department of Television, Radio, Film and Theatre, once known as the Theatre Arts department. I hope this mailing finds you well, hopeful, and prosperous. I am optimistic that you have reached back at least once since my last letter and thought about your life as a student here. Were you influenced by a show you worked on? Did you find fleeting fame as a KSJS disc jockey? Did you make a film? Was there a drama or RTVF professor who influenced your career choice?
In response to my first alumni mailing I received letters and e-mails from a few of you, telling me where you are, re-introducing yourself to your academic department. When I became chair I promised my faculty, my students and you that I would take charge of the public outreach efforts of the department, that I would make certain that you always have the latest news, always know what we are doing. I continue to use the U.S. Postal service, and this department Web. Whether you visit our site once a week or monthly, you’ll always learn something new.
I always tell faculty and students that the way we differentiate our unique collaborative curriculum of radio-TV-film and performance from journalism and communication studies is our department motto: "We don’t do the news." Here is the news anyway:
KSJS-FM NEWS
Between 1963 and 1991 you could always receive KSJS-FM loud and clear on campus, this because our antenna was on top of Walquist Library. There were three problems with this location. First, the university is about 300 feet below average terrain, the kiss of death for FM, so our signal rarely carried beyond the San Jose City limits. FM needs height, especially in our mountainous region. Another problem is that the FCC, our federal licensing agency, began to require that transmitters be relocated away from people because of the allegations that radio frequencies, RF, may cause cancer. A third problem, one we didn’t even know about at the time, was that there is no more Walquist Library, so we would have been forced to move our antenna sooner or later. We chose sooner.
Back in 1988, KSJS applied for a construction permit to broadcast from Coyote Peak, south of San Jose near the Santa Teresa County Park. We mounted a non-directional antenna on KSJO’s tower. Because Coyote was 300 feet above average terrain, we had to reduce power to 250 watts to go farther. Enter another problem: At 90.7 mHz, we interfered with the Cal Berkeley station, and so we struggled for nearly a decade, moved to 90.5 mHz, reduced our power to 238 watts, still non-directional. It was not good enough. In 1998 site owners KSJO and American Tower, wanting to improve their signals, built a giant tower, so large that it literally soaked up most of our 238 watts, causing our signal to further degrade, actually skip over San Jose and the campus. We were louder on the CSU Hayward campus than on our own. This meant that folks living in San Jose, residing in the SJSU dormitories, even working on campus or driving in the area could not hear us clearly.
Now, we have completed a final improvement. After several years of engineering study, we received a license on September 25, 2001, allowing us to use a directional antenna array designed to focus our primary signal onto the City of San Jose and north into the Peninsula. We remain 238 watts to the south, but to the populous and important north, we are 1500 watts. Reception has improved at last.
And this is the 40th year of continuous broadcasting for KSJS. We plan a reunion event in February 2003. E-mail me for details.
BUILDING NEWS
What a difference a year makes. This time last year we were preparing for the last rites of Hugh Gillis Hall, knowing that because of the office space shortage in Silicon Valley, it was only a matter of a few months until the University Theatre was reduced to rubble. Recall that the 2000 SJSU plan called for the three older buildings on San Fernando between the new library and 7th street be torn down and replaced with high rise mixed use structures, half high tech office rentals, half classrooms.
This plan is obviously on indefinite hold pending a return in demand for space by technology companies. This latest false alarm has given me a new and healthy respect for our aging complex. Our theatre complex remains very useable, we have plenty of space, and we are in our theatres 24/7 building for live shows, films and special presentations like the recent Latino Film Festival. For this event we equipped our main theatre for 35mm projection, even sold popcorn. Very classy.
PRODUCTION NEWS
Film production has become our major growth area. Beginning last Spring with the "Ball Lightning" project and continuing through the summer with our feature comedy "Pizza Wars," interest in film has exploded. This has been a great learning experience for our students, as writers, producers, being on location as directors, actors, technical support, design and construction, and more. Film production has truly united all our students, faculty and staff. You would be proud of us, impressed at how good we have become. And 2001 RTVF graduate Omar Benson Miller appeared on "West Wing" in October, 2002 and is currently playing a large supporting role in the film "8-MIle."
Musical theatre is back. I promised the faculty and our students that I would make the funding of a yearly musical a reality. Our Spring 2002 musical show, "Cabaret, " was a major success due to the efforts of long time supporter Ed Mosher and his committee of fellow Alums. As a former student, this is one area in which you can really help us. I would love to have a sizeable endowment for future shows, the interest of which would be earmarked for musical theatre. You can call Ed at 408-286-7065 with your ideas. Please ask me about this, give me your thinking on this very important part of our educational mission.
SCHOLARSHIP NEWS
We continue to reward an encourage our good students by paying their tuition and providing stipends and awards under our scholarship program. Professor David Kahn dkahn@email.sjsu.edu is in charge of this ambitious program and he reports that we have just received a very generous cash donation from alumni Alys Milner and Michael Francini. They have requested that their gift become a part of the Eliza Chugg Fund.
I hope to hear from you. Until then, thanks for your continuing support of your department.
Mike Adams, Chair
adams@email.sjsu.edu
