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THE GEORGIA TECH A L U M N U S
September-October,
1948
WGST Affiliates With the Mutual Broadcasting System Georgia Tech's radio station, WGST, joined the world's largest network on September 26, 1948, the Mutual Broadcasting System. In a statement concerning plans for WGST, Mr. John Fulton, Manager, said, "We are delighted to join the world's largest network where WGST will expose the Atlanta audience to Mutual's fine line-up of programs. Our first big offering after joining MBS will be an exclusive broadcast of the World Series. "With the fine local fare that WGST will offer to Georgians, we feel that Atlantans will find more t h a n ever that Georgia Tech's radio station, affiliated with Mutual, will be high on their listening agenda. "Revenues from WGST," he pointed out, "are a n important part of the endowment of Georgia Tech, and we are happy to be associated with a Tech Alumnus, Edgar Kobak, president of MBS, in our new affiliation." Mr. Kobak, '18, attended the opening of Mutual's new outlet, WGST, September 26. On September 24 he was feted at a dinner party attended by officials connected with WGST, advertisers, and others.
EDGAR KOBAK, GEORGIA T E C H , ' 1 8 , PRESIDENT A N D DIRECTOR OF T H E M U T U A L BROADCASTING SYSTEM M r . Kobok came to Atlanta for the affiliation of Georgia Tech's W G S T radio station with the M u t u a l Network on Sept. 2 6 . He is also President of the Radio Pioneers and former Executive Vice-President and General Manager of the Blue Network. He was entertained by Georgia Tech Alumni officials, WGST executives and others during his visit to Atlanta. See article on right.
REPRESENTATIVE AT COLLEGE INAUGURATION Alumnus W. Morris Fuller, B.S. in M.E., 1921, represented Georgia Tech at the inauguration of Dr. T. Keith Glennan as President of Case Institute of Technology on May 21, 1948, at Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Glennan became the fourth president of Case, over a period of years beginning in 1886. Georgia Tech's representative, W. Morris Fuller, B.S. in M.E., 1921, is Zone Manager of the Otis Elevator Company at Cleveland, Ohio. DISTINGUISHED CHINESE VISIT ALUMNI OFFICE On July 21, a distinguished group of Chinese Y.M.C.A. secretaries visited the alumni office, in connection with their tour to a number of colleges and universities in the United States. Known as the "Peripatetic Group of Chinese Y.M.C.A. Representatives," the personnel was comprised of the general secretaries, respectively, from Chunking, Kunming, Tsinan, Ningpo; the comptroller and the business manager of the National Committee of Y.M.C.A.'e in China.
WGST STUDIOS TO COST MORE THAN HALF MDLLION Plans for the construction of the new studios for Radio Station WGST were announced in July, 1948. The new studios will be located adjacent to O'Keefe High School at Eighth and Fowler Streets. The new building will have an auditorium with a seating capacity of 350 persons and six studios for AM, FM and television programs. A new FM station for WGST is also being built near Jasper, Ga. Bids were received until August 10, and the lowest received was that of J. A. Jones Construction Co. of $694,400. Present to receive the bids were Mr. Frank W. Spratlin, member of the Board of Regents and chairman of the WGST Committee; Mr. John Fulton, general manager of WGST; Mr. Russell A. Smith, campus engineer of Georgia Tech; Mr. Charles Strong, construction engineer for the Board of Regents, and members of the firm, Bush-Brown, Gailey and Heffernan. Since the original estimate was around Vz million, the committee has held up the letting of bids temporarily due to the high bids submitted. The studios were originally slated to be completed and ready for operation by the first of July, 1949 at the latest. COMMENCEMENT (Continued from page 5) Georgia Tech's 60 Years of Operation Although the college was formally incorporated in 1885, its class work did not begin until 1888. Two buildings, 7 faculty members, 5 acres of land and 139 students, of whom 138 were from Georgia, represented the nucleus from which the college actually originated. Beginning with the 1947-'48 school year, in September, 1947, there were 5,400 students enrolled from Georgia and 36 other states and foreign countries, on a campus of 140 acres. The present plant is conservatively valued at eighteen million dollars. Dr. Blake Van Leer Fifth President of Tech Dr. Blake R. Van Leer was inaugurated as the fifth President of Georgia Tech in 1944, and he has added enormously to the physical plant and reorganization of the institution, in keeping with the outstanding precedent as set by his eminent predecessors: Dr. I. S. Hopkins, 1888-1896; Dr. Lyman Hall, 1896-1905; Dr. K. G. Matheson, 1005-1922; and Dr. M. L. Brittain, 1922-1944.