Wayne State College’s student ran TV station, KWSC-TV, has received a $75,000 donation from an anonymous alumnus to aid with the renovation of the studio. 

Pat Janssen, the advisor for KWSC-TV, has a main focus on how he wants to use the donation to promote student investment in the TV product that they are making.  

“So, a big part of what we are going to focus on is getting a more permanent news set that reflects the professionalism of the work being done by our TV students,” Janssen said. “I think that will serve well for recruiting as well.” 

Janssen also said that they will do some other equipment upgrades, including improving the monitor setup and the acoustics in the studio, but he wants to remain cautious about how fast money can go when upgrading a TV studio.  

David Bohnert, the Dean of Arts and Humanities at WSC, said that the donation will help improve the studio for both the students and professors. 

“This donation will allow the facilities to match the level of talent and ambition in the students and faculty,” Bohnert said. “I also believe it will serve as a wonderful showpiece for prospective students.” 

While the money donated came from an anonymous donor, Bohnert said there are different ways that these donations can come about. 

“Each of the areas [in humanities] identified priorities and the TV station was at the top of our list,” Bohnert said. “The WSC Foundation brings this list to prospective donors to see what resonates with them. This year we had a donor that wanted to give to the TV studio project.” 

Janssen said that he would love to personally thank the alumnus that donated to the TV studio and that “it will really serve our students well.” 

In 2002, the TV station moved from the Peterson Fine Arts building into its new home of the Humanities building. This was the last time that the TV studio has seen a major overhaul. 

Janssen talked about how big of a deal it is to upgrade the TV studio, especially with all of the other advancements within the mass communication department. 

“We have added sports media, we have added a film major, and I would have killed for both of those majors when I was a student,” Janssen said. “But it has also meant that we have had tentacles going in a lot of different directions. So now we have the opportunity to really put some much needed focus on the TV studio.” 

After Janssen found out about the donation, he said that he had a great feeling but also a fair bit of anxiety.  

“Once I sat on that for a minute, I realized we have a lot of work and planning ahead of us and we have to do it fairly quickly too,” Janssen said. “I want to make sure that we do it right because it is not every day that you get a $75,000 donation and I want to make sure that we are really honoring that incredible gift.” 

Over the past month, Janssen said he had been in communication with Bohnert about the possibility of an upgrade to the TV department and that he had been incredibly supportive from the very beginning.  

“There were initial conversations about what would be needed to redo the studio so we could arrive at a dollar amount,” Bohnert said. “Now Mr. Janssen is working with the staff in the mass comm. area to choose the products and vendors.” 

While Janssen said that you can learn a lot from difficult situations, he also wants to prepare his students for future newsrooms that they might be a part of.  

“This isn’t just about making a TV station, it’s about preparing people to go out into the workforce and be prepared as well,” Janssen said. “Another important consideration is what is the type of stuff that they would be using in a professional environment.” 

Continuing to improve the studio only helps students in their future careers and that is why the donation is so important to everyone that is involved with the TV station, Janssen said. Many students across multiple different majors are able to produce content that can be played on the 24/7 automated station.  

“I think that for people to be able to see what everyone is doing and for people to be proud of what they are doing and the work that they are doing, that, to me, is one of the end goals of the TV station,” Janssen said.