Curry's Communication department celebrated 75 years of Broadcasting as a field of study on Monday April 7, 2008. Dozens of broadcasting alums returned to campus for a special evening ceremony, including Howard Leonard Silverman, an alum from the class of 1948.
According to the Curry College catalog of June 1933, the School of Expression (as Curry was then known) arranged a schedule of broadcasts over radio station WLOE at the Hotel Bellevue on Beacon Hill in Boston. The programs started on November 9, 1932 with "readings, plays and impersonations".
The first performance was from a faculty member, Mr. Thompson, reading an act of "The Jesters". Other performances that academic year consisted of "Romeo and Juliet", "The Star of David" and "The Taming of the Shrew," to name a few. More programs followed throughout the 1932-33 academic year.
Broadcasting blossomed in the 1940s and 1950s with the college eventually putting together a carrier current radio station on campus. This station could be heard on the AM dial through wiring on campus.
A major turning point in Curry radio took place on April 1, 1975 when WMLN 91.5 FM debuted. WMLN has won dozens of awards over its 30-year plus history, including the prestigious "Station of the Year" award by the Associated Press.
In 2006, adding yet another chapter to its long history, Curry's radio station began simulcasting its broadcasts over the Internet. Today, students who run the station can be heard over-the-air throughout Boston and the South Shore, and worldwide as well. Click here to listen live.
"Having WMLN-FM in my home, and knowing it is now available to the world, is one of the most exciting things to happen to Curry College radio since it signed on the air," said Alan Frank, Director of Curry College radio.
In 2001, Curry's broadcasting program was furthered enhanced by the addition of the Hirsh television studio in the Hafer Academic Building. The Hirsh facility spawned the start of CC8, the cable station serving the Curry community. Students also produce sports programming for Milton public access television.
Curry's broadcasting major is one of the oldest in the country, and is recognized coast-to-coast as a leader in preparing students for entry into this competitive field. Hundreds of alums are now employed at radio and television stations in small and large markets, carrying on the Curry tradition of excellence.