Many know Quincy University has and operates an industry standard news studio; however, few know how the university got here. Professor Travis Yates happens to be one of the few people who know. Yates worked closely with Barbara Schleppenbach, PhD., and John Schleppenbach, PhD., among others to keep what was started 50 years ago up to date with the capabilities to teach and train tomorrow’s media professionals.

During the early 80’s QU operated a full TV studio in MacHugh Theatre within Francis Hall. This studio was built by Yahya Kamalipour, PhD., who published an article describing the process for the benefit of other small institutions. The studio operated throughout the 80’s and 90’s until it no longer had the ability to adequately teach students.
Between the 90’s and mid 2000’s the communication program was in its most vulnerable state, the university needed to decide on whether to continue to teach hands on digital communication or commit fully to teaching communication theory.

The year 2009 marked a pivotal point for the communication program with the relaunch of TV media production. This transformation brought the program into the digital age.

“Our field is always changing; every 5-10 years it’s something new,” Yates said.

The same applies to the university, the program must see change to stay relevant and afford its students the opportunity to get the hands-on experience needed to be successful. This iteration of QUTV was made possible with the use of some repurposed equipment and a soundboard donated by WQUB. QUTV which was housed in the basement of Friars Hall until 2012.

In 2012 a $50,000 donation from the Quincy Herald Whig and WGEM allowed QUTV to move into its new home at QU’s North Campus. Additionally some new equipment was purchased at this time advancing the program even further.

2015 was the biggest year for the program to date, after a $500,000 grant from Quincy Media propelled the program, allowing the capability to design and install the state-of-the-art studio the university has now. This studio features everything you would expect an industry-standard news studio to have, Ross Video equipment, high-definition digital studio cameras and more.

Continuous efforts are being made to keep the program relevant and up to date, the university’s partnership with Quincy Media and the Oakly-Lindsay Foundation was instrumental to the success of the program.

“Board member (and former board chair) Ralph Oakly has been a strong champion of the program,” Barbara Schleppenbach, said.

Two of the professors teaching within the communication department at Quincy University are prior local news station personnel which embodies a heightened level of communal belief in the next generation of communication professionals.