Vermont Public is buying Northern Vermont University’s radio station, the public broadcaster announced last week.
The campus radio station, which broadcasts at WWLR 91.5, will be converted to a 24-hour classical music station, Vermont Public said in an announcement Dec. 16.
“We are thrilled to be expanding Vermont Public’s Classical service to more of the Northeast Kingdom,” said Helen Lyons, Vermont Public music manager, in a press release. “We look forward to welcoming new listeners who will now be able to enjoy the companionship of our locally hosted programming, and the sense of connection we bring to Vermont’s vibrant musical community.”
WWLR is currently a student-run club that broadcasts “freeform community radio” to all of Caledonia County in Vermont and much of Coos County in New Hampshire, according to its website. The station offers students experience in radio broadcasting and DJing.
“From hip-hop to metal, from reggae to rock, country to contemporary, WWLR has it all,” the station’s website reads.
The Caledonian Record reported the sale last week.
In an email Dec. 16 to students, Northern Vermont University’s dean of students, Jonathan Davis, said administrators based their decision to sell the station on “more advanced learning technologies in the classroom, waning student participation, and ongoing costs associated with dated station infrastructure and FCC compliance.”
Students will still have access to radio broadcasting and DJing programs, Davis said, but the station will shift to an online livestream model.
Trustees of the Vermont State Colleges — which consist of the Johnson and Lyndon campuses of Northern Vermont University, Castleton University, Vermont Technical College, and the Community College of Vermont — have been working to sell the WWLR broadcast license for months.
In December 2021, trustees approved a motion to give up the university’s license, and trustees approved a sale of the license in an October resolution.
The price for the station and a lease for the facility would be “no more than $80,000,” according to the resolution, though a final deal is contingent on approval by the Federal Communications Commission.
That could take up to three months, according to Vermont Public.
Clarification: This story was updated to clarify the makeup of the Vermont State Colleges’ board of trustees.