KSUB Seattle History

In 1994, Fr. John F. Foster, S.J., recognized that Seattle University had lacked a student radio station for far too long. That year, he approached the then Vice President for Student Development, Dr. Hank Durand, for help. Dr. Durand enthusiastically approved and supported the station known today as KSUB: Seattle University Broadcasting.

At that time Mr. Joseph K. Abel, a member of Seattle University’s Board of Regents, was head of the News Division for KIRO radio here in Seattle. KIRO had just bought out the now-defunct KING-AM station and, having no need for KING's monophonic AM broadcast equipment, donated it to SU through the generous assistance of Mr. Abel.

KSUB was allotted space in the basement of the former Student Union Building, (now the Graduate School of Theology and Ministry,) and under the very capable direction and hard work of senior Art student Mark Kordash, the donated equipment was installed and operating with Ellen Hill and Alissa Teel as the founding General Manager and News Director respectively.

Because Seattle, home of the thirteenth largest radio market in the nation, is one of the most congested media centers in the nation, no broadcast FM frequency was available in 1994. Consequently, KSUB decided to broadcast on a Carrier Transmitter System whereby the signal from KSUB's broadcast studio is fed through telephone lines to a carrier transmitter in each of the three older residence halls, (Xavier, Bellamine, and Campion,) which in turn feeds the amplified signal into each hall's electric power grid. The halls’ power grids carry the signal throughout the rest of the building.

Furthermore, KSUB placed on top of the Lemieux Library a very small (8 milliwatt) FM transmitter , which directs its signal toward Murphy Apartments, Bellarmine, and the new Student Center. Per FCC guidelines, the FM signal carries only 200 to 300 feet.

Over the past nine years, KSUB has upgraded its equipment significantly, largely through the generosity of University President Fr. Stephen Sundborg, S.J. In 2000, KSUB began its online broadcast with the assistance of University staff in Information Technology via the campus intranet. In 2002, KSUB vastly expanded its LP collection with the donation of the Jack Graves Memorial Record Collection. Jack Graves was a Seattle composer and longtime Columbia Record salesman.   In 2001 the station moved to its currently location in the basement of Campion Hall. Finally, in 2003, the station took a major step into both the professional world of broadcasting and the digital age when it took the station worldwide via the internet.

Today, KSUB is an organization made up of members of the Seattle University community, including students, faculty, staff, and alumni, who are dedicated to the medium of radio and the furtherance of college radio, and who dedicate the time, money, resources, and energy necessary to sustain a college station. While not officially a club within the ASSU, (Associated Students of Seattle University,) KSUB, like its partner-news outlet the Spectator, is funded through the office of the Vice President for Student Development with support from members of the SU and extended communities. Over the years, several graduates of Seattle University have successfully gone on into professional communications, including radio, due largely to the experience they gained in working with KSUB.

As for the future, KSUB hopes to one day obtain an FM license. The call letters KSUB will have to go because another station currently broadcasts under these letters. At that time, KSUB will conduct a call letter survey in order to find an identity appropriate for and unique to SU. However, due to the broadcast congestion inherent in a large radio market and the fact that SU is located in the heart of a series of radio relay networks, the prospect of obtaining a license is not on the immediate horizon. While an AM signal is a possibility, an FM signal would be preferable because the lower part of the FM band is dedicated by the FCC to educational and non-profit use at relatively little or no cost to such entities. However, the entire AM band is commercial; to purchase an AM frequency would cost a small – or large – fortune!

And the future is yet to be written.