BOONE—A new radio and television complex in Appalachian State University’s Department of Communication has been named for broadcasting entrepreneur George G. Beasley of Naples, Fla., following approval by the Appalachian State University Board of Trustees during its September meeting.

The George G. Beasley Broadcasting Complex will open in 2010 in university-owned property on the corner of Depot and Rivers streets.

Beasley, who earned bachelor of science and master of arts degrees in business education from Appalachian in 1958 and 1959, respectively, is founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Beasley Broadcast Group Inc. Beasley started the company in Benson, N.C., in 1961, and today owns 44 radio stations in 11 markets across the United States.

A gift from Beasley to the Appalachian State University Foundation will be used for the construction and renovation of the facility.

“George Beasley well knows how a college education can change a person’s life,” said Chancellor Kenneth E. Peacock.

As a young man, Beasley left his family’s tobacco farm and joined the Army in order to pay for college.

“This is truly a life-transforming gift that will enable other students to pursue their dreams of a earning a college degree and entering a career in broadcasting,” Peacock said.

The building near Walker Hall and downtown Boone currently houses the Reich College of Education’s Communication Disorders Clinic. The clinic is scheduled to move to University Hall in the summer of 2008. Renovations to the broadcasting complex will then begin with a tentative grand opening set for spring 2010.

The first floor will house the WASU-FM radio complex, with offices for student workers and the station manager, two production suites and a waiting area. It also will have a classroom wired for audio/video production, a computer lab and four audio labs. The building also will be the home of the Kellar Radio Farm System Institute, a 10-day program for training and recruiting future radio broadcasters.

The second floor of the complex will contain two television studios and control rooms, offices, a green room (guest reception room), storage and six video editing suites. The new television studio will be larger than any current studios in the department and will have room for a teaching area and possibly two additional sets.

Beasley has served on Appalachian’s Foundation Board of Directors since 1996 and the university’s Board of Trustees since 2001.

He and his wife, Ann, have long supported Appalachian. They made a major contribution to the university’s Campaign for the Second Century in 1999 through the creation of a charitable remainder trust, and in 2006 their contribution to the Athletics Facilities Campaign resulted in the naming of the chancellor’s football guest box in their honor.

Appalachian’s Department of Communication is housed in the College of Fine and Applied Arts and is currently one of the largest departments on campus with more than 800 students. The department offers degrees in advertising, communication studies, electronic media/broadcasting, journalism and public relations.

For more information, visit www.asucom.appstate.edu.

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