AEP SWEPCO grant
to fund LSUS state-of-the-art TV lab
02/27/04

LSUS broadcast journalism students will soon be using a state-of-the-art television studio/lab to learn their profession, thanks to a three-year $40,000 grant from AEP SWEPCO.

The university’s Department of Communications announced the new lab at a news conference today that featured two broadcast journalism students conducting an “on-air” interview with AEP SWEPCO Arkansas/Louisiana President Brian Bond on a makeshift TV set in the classroom that will be converted into the TV studio.

Bond, who earned a Bachelor of General Studies degree in natural and applied sciences from LSUS in 1981, joined Tristan Gilley and Kimberly Jacks, both junior communications majors concentrating in broadcast journalism, to discuss the grant and what it will mean to the LSUS broadcast journalism program. The news feature interview simulated what is seen regularly on television news broadcasts.

The AEP grant is being used to purchase state-of-the-art digital equipment, including cameras and non-linear editors. Dr. Johnette McCrery, an LSUS assistant professor of communications who teaches broadcast journalism courses, said the department intends to have the new TV studio/lab in operation by the beginning of the fall semester in August. Formerly Johnette Hawkins, she worked professionally as a broadcast journalist in Texarkana and Shreveport for KTAL-TV and KTBS-TV.

“The equipment we are buying with the AEP grant is similar to the equipment used by our local television station news departments,” McCrery said. “We are educating and training our students for the high-paying, professional jobs in broadcasting – reporters, anchors and news directors.”

Jacks said she enrolled in a bachelor’s degree program at LSUS to receive a liberal arts education and learn the professional skills needed to be a successful broadcast journalist. She wants some day to be a television sports anchor. Gilley aspires to be a movie maker and said he believes his professional education in broadcast journalism will help him toward his goal.

Dr. Merrell Knighten, dean of the College of Liberal Arts, and Dr. Jack Nolan, chair of the Communications Department, also discussed the importance of providing their students with accurate and up-to-date simulations of real-world work places. They said the better prepared students are to enter a professional work environment with a minimum of on-the-job training, the more valuable their education and the university is to the community.

LSUS Chancellor Vince Marsala commended Bond and AEP for their on-going commitment to higher education and for taking a leadership role in helping make the LSUS broadcast journalism program competitive with the large universities. “AEP SWEPCO’s support of this and several other outstanding programs is helping LSUS build a reputation and be recognized for our academic excellence locally, regionally and nationally.”

American Electric Power owns and operates more than 42,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the United States and select international markets and is the largest electricity generator in the U.S. AEP is also one of the largest electricity utilities in the United States, with almost five million customers linked to its 11-state electricity transmission and distribution grid. The company is based in Columbus, Ohio.

Backgrounder

Two LSUS students “interview” AEP SWEPCO president

Two LSUS broadcast journalism students “interviewed” AEP SWEPCO Arkansas/Louisiana President Brian Bond as the featured segment of a news conference today on the LSUS campus announcing a three-year $40,000 AEP grant to equip a new, state-of-the-art television studio/lab for the LSUS Department of Communications. Bond was interviewed by LSUS Tristan Gilley and Kimberly Jacks, both LSUS juniors majoring in communications with a concentration in broadcast journalism.

Bond, a 1981 LSUS graduate with a Bachelor of General Studies degree in natural and applied sciences, was named AEP SWEPCO’s state president in August 2003 after serving nearly three years as environmental affairs manager-Louisiana and manager, Waste Management & Mitigation Services for American Electric Power Service Corporation. He began his career with SWEPCO in 1981 as an environmental chemist, and worked with the General Motors environmental engineering group in 1989-90 before rejoining SWEPCO.

His strategic focus is on community relations and public policy matters in Louisiana and Arkansas, particularly as they affect AEP’s business in the increasingly competitive electricity industry. He participates in building and maintaining external relationships with regulators, legislators, consumers and other stakeholders who have an impact on AEP activities in the two states.

Gilley has been at LSUS for about three years. After graduating from LSUS, he said he hopes to pursue a master’s degree in film production at either the University of Texas or Florida State University. He said his ultimate goal is to make movies.

Jacks, also a junior, said she hopes one day to become a sports anchor for a local news group.