Cedarville Magazine, Spring/Summer 2015

an FMnetwork for around 50 years [WCDR], and I was on air there 28 years while serving as a faculty member,” he explained. When Leightenheimer returned, Cedarville’s program was exclusively radio broadcasting. “In 1982, we would prepare students by having them do audio with a little bit of video, on-air performance, production, news,” he said. “Now they take courses in social media and web design. There’s an emphasis on writing and promotions; audio and video skills are still important with every website, even for radio stations, putting up video content all the time.” “What sets us apart is that we’re well-tuned to what’s happening in the industry,” Leightenheimer continued. “Radio has been in a state of flux. Television came along and had a tremendous impact; FM impacted AM. Radio always snaps back. We just make sure our students have tools that stations are looking for today.” Broad course offerings have been the key to Cedarville graduates’ employability. “It’s not just about radio, television, film, or production courses,” Leightenheimer said. “They all get courses on law and regulations, ethics, writing, and audio and video production.” There’s also a film emphasis under the leadership of Jim Kragel, Associate Professor of Communications. Audio production courses used to prepare students solely for radio context, but now they teach sound design, post-production for film, and live and sound music production. “We took a program that had two production courses and increased it to six production courses, with a wide preparation in multiple areas,” Leightenheimer said. “With today’s environment you don’t get in as a specialist anymore; you get in as a utility player who can do five things well.” Adapting to the changing environment of media has meant changing the way Cedarville delivers radio itself. Eight years ago, Cedarville moved its low-wattage student station online. That’s today’s ResoundRadio.com , which can be heard worldwide courtesy of the Internet. A student leadership teamof sixmanages a volunteer staff of 30 at Resound. They develop their own programming, based on research and testing. There’s an on-air voice presence from 8 a.m.–5 p.m. every day Cedarville’s in session fall and spring semesters. Coming Back and Giving Back Because of Leightenheimer’s desire to see current students become as professional as possible, he encourages graduates working in the broadcasting field to return and teach as adjuncts or provide coaching. Bill Montgomery ’93, General Sales Manager at Columbus, Ohio-based 104.9 FM the River, teaches once a week at Cedarville. The River was named the number one large-market Christian Station of the Year last year by the Christian Music Broadcasters organization. “Our graduates serve as non-paid consultants,” Leightenheimer said. “Todd Stach ’94, Chief Creative Officer at the River, is one of our programming consultants. He listens to our ‘Amp Up with Angela and Stephen’ team every week and gives them critique. We’re very serious here.” This drive to develop students into professionals before they leave Cedarville has paid results. Managers from all over the country in Christian radio know that students coming fromCedarville will be well-groomed and prepared to make a difference immediately. “We’re always looking for the best people we can find out there,” noted Dusty Rhodes, Senior Vice President of WAY-FM, a national network of Christian radio stations, in a video promoting the Cedarville program. “For many years our go-to guy for fresh new candidates has been Professor Jim Leightenheimer fromCedarville University. Jim and the team at Cedarville [Baker, Kragel, Assistant Professor of Communications Jeff Simon, and Assistant Professor of Communications Mischelle McIntosh], they really know how to train and equip students for the real world. “WAY-FM has hired over a dozen Cedarville grads over these many years. And they’reworking successfully in…Denver; Nashville; West Palm Beach, Florida; Huntsville, Alabama; Tallahassee, Fort Myers/Naples, Florida. We love these students. They’re always ready to jump into what we’re already doing. In baseball terms, it’s almost like us having our own farm club team out there in rural Ohio.” (To see the video, go to cedarville.edu/dusty-rhodes . ) Cedarville Magazine | 19