Always a vital part of Seton Hall University from the time it signed on the air, WSOU began broadcasting on 89.5 FM on April 14, 1948. The station would never have gotten on the air without the dedication and inspiration of Monsignor Thomas J. Gillhooly, the station’s first faculty director.
Given the assignment by university president Monsignor James Kelly to create a radio station, Monsignor Gillhooly got WSOU up and running in just three months and provided a steady hand during the station’s early days. Assisting Monsignor Gillhooly in building WSOU was the station’s longtime chief engineer Tom Parnham, who helped construct the station and then remained with WSOU. A beloved teacher, mentor, friend and, of course, broadcast engineer, Mr. Parnham worked at WSOU from 1948 until his death in 1994.
New Jersey’s 89.5FM WSOU will be host a radio-thon collecting donations for Hurricane Sandy relief on Friday, November 30th. The radio-thon starts at 6AM and will run until midnight. They will be DJing regular rotation music and will be taking breaks to ask for donation. Listeners will be able to call up and pledge various amounts of money. If a listener pledges $25+, he/she will be mailed a WSOU prize pack (contains WSOU stickers, pens, bottle openers and a random CD). If the pledge amount is $50+ the listener will receive a special Hurricane Sandy relief t-shift we are making specifically for the occasion and the prize pack as well.
If the donation is $100+ the listener will receive a WSOU Hoodie, the shirt, and the prize pack. They will also be running raffles all day. Raffle tickets can be purchased separately at $25 each. Some of the prizes being raffled are a signed Slipknot poster (includes Paul Gray), a 3 Inches of Blood snowboard and a framed drum head signed by all members of Five Finger Death Punch. There are also many other signed pieces of memorabilia to be given away. Their goal is to raise $8950 by the end of the day. They will have a slew of guest DJs throughout the day as well.
For more info or to donate please link here
WSOU’s studios were originally located in the basement of the university’s recreation center. In 1998, the station was moved to a state-of-the-art facility inside a new addition to the recreation center.
Since its inception, WSOU has always been a student-run radio station. Although a noncommercial station, WSOU’s staff structure is modeled on commercial radio, which provides students with enriching career-oriented educational experiences. Opportunities for student staff members include on-air hosting (DJ), production, promotion, newscasting, sportscasting, programming, sales and marketing, and engineering. WSOU draws students from all university colleges and programs, including communications, business, biology, education, nursing, sports management and diplomacy.
During its 58-year history, WSOU has gone through many changes. But one thing has not change – WSOU remains consistently dedicated to enriching the lives of Seton Hall students while entertaining and enlightening its listening audience.