Help UATV Celebrate its 20th Anniversary During Homecoming Weekend

It's been 20 years since UATV — University of Arkansas Television — officially went on air during the fall semester of 1996, and now it's time to celebrate reaching this milestone.

All current and former UATV staffers, U of A students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members are invited to join the free party on Friday, Oct. 14 from 6 to 8 p.m. on the Kimpel Hall Terrace.

"This location is the perfect spot to view the Homecoming parade and get the inside scoop," said Larry Foley, professor and chair of the Walter J. Lemke Department of Journalism in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. "We'll be making a special announcement at 7 p.m. you won't want to miss."

Foley founded the station in the fall of 1996, with his then graduate assistant, Chuck Carney, who is now director of communications and marketing at University of Indiana's School of Global and International Studies.

Foley said the anniversary celebration will include refreshments and a live UATV broadcast covering the Homecoming parade. The festivities will continue with a look back at UATV's beginning and culminate with a look forward at what the station's future will hold thanks to alumna Sue Walk Burnett and her husband Randy.

"It's going to be a great night," said Robyn Starling Ledbetter, director of student media. "We're so excited to share where UATV and our entire Student Media program will be heading in the very near future. This is a pivotal year for us, and celebrating with so many program alumni and community supporters is incredibly meaningful."

UATV is a 24-hour a day, year-round station, with student-produced news, sports, entertainment, public affairs programs and documentaries. The station currently broadcasts from the first floor of Kimpel Hall on the University of Arkansas campus. UATV works in conjunction with the University of Arkansas Student Media Board and the Walter J. Lemke Department of Journalism in the Fulbright College.

Any student currently enrolled in the University of Arkansas, regardless of major, can volunteer for UATV. No TV experience is needed. Most new volunteers end up working on programs the moment that they walk through the station door. For more information, visit uatvonline.net.