CPB Community Service Grant (CSG) Compliance - WKAR

As a Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) Community Service Grant (CSG) recipient, Michigan State University and WKAR present this information and documentation to ensure transparency in business matters to the general public.

Contact WKAR
(517) 884-4700
404 Wilson Road Room 212
East Lansing, MI 48824

WKAR Station Management

WKAR Radio

GM/Executive Director: Shawn Turner | ssturner@wkar.org
Chief Financial Officer: Scott Gascon | smg@msu.edu
Head of Development: Melanie McGuire | melanie@wkar.org
Head of Programming: Jamie Paisley | jamie@wkar.org
Head of Broadcast Operations: Brant Wells | brant@wkar.org
Head of Comm. Outreach: Bill Richards| billr@wkar.org
Head of Educational Services: Robin Pizzo | robin@wkar.org
Head of Interactive/Web Services: Jordan Nightingale | jordann@wkar.org
Head of Marketing/Promotion: Melanie McGuire | melanie@wkar.org

WKAR TV

GM/Executive Director: Shawn Turner | ssturner@wkar.org
Chief Financial Officer: Scott Gascon | smg@msu.edu
Head of Development: Melanie McGuire | melanie@wkar.org
Head of Programming: Ashlee Smith | ashlee@wkar.org
Head of Broadcast Operations: Brant Wells | brant@wkar.org
Head of Production: Brant Wells | brant@wkar.org
Head of Comm. Outreach: Bill Richards| billr@wkar.org
Head of Educational Services: Robin Pizzo | robin@wkar.org
Head of Interactive/Web Services: Jordan Nightingale | jordann@wkar.org
Head of Marketing/Promotion: Melanie McGuire | melanie@wkar.org

WKAR Governing Board (MSU Board of Trustees)

WKAR-AM, FM and TV are licensed to the Board of Trustees of Michigan State University. For additional information please visit: trustees.msu.edu/about/.

Rebecca Bahar-Cook – term ends 1/1/33
Dennis Denno - term ends 1/1/31
Mike Balow – term ends 1/1/33
Renee Knake Jefferson – term ends 1/1/31
Sandy Pierce - term ends 1/1/29
Brianna T. Scott – term ends 1/1/27
Kelly Tebay – term ends 1/1/27
Rema Vassar – term ends 1/1/29

* Trustee Term End Dates

Community Advisory Board

WKAR-AM, FM, and TV are owned and operated by a state university and therefore are not required to have a Community Advisory Board.

Open Meetings Policy

WKAR-AM, FM and TV are licensed to the Board of Trustees of Michigan State University. The Trustees comprise the governing body for WKAR. The MSU Board of Trustees meets several times per year. Please visit trustees.msu.edu/meetings/ for details on the Board of Trustees meeting dates.

2025 Meetings

Board meetings begin at 9:00 a.m. in the Board Room, 401 Hannah Administration Building, unless otherwise indicated. Meetings are livestreamed, enabling the public to view the meeting online or listen by phone. View the connection information.

Feb. 7, 2025
Apr. 11, 2025
Jun. 13, 2025
Sep. 5, 2025
Oct. 31, 2025
Dec. 12, 2025

Notice of these meetings will be sent via letter, email, fax, telephone or in person to individuals who have specifically requested notification.

When an agenda item specifically related to WKAR is on the docket, notice will be placed on the WKAR website.

Financial Reporting Requirements

WKAR makes the annual Audited Financial Statements and Annual Financial Reports submitted to CPB available to the public, both online at the station's website, and in paper along with the stations FCC Public File in the main office: 404 Wilson Road, Room 212, East Lansing, MI 48824-1212.

WKAR adheres to a discrete accounting system, which allows the grantor and auditor to discretely track funds within the accounting system.

Community Representation Statement

WKAR’s community representation statement includes the station’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion including a vision statement, DEI values, goals, and steps towards achieving the station’s commitment to DEI.

Diversity Statement

WKAR Public Media is committed to creating content and promoting stories that reflect the diverse richness of the different cultures and people in Mid-Michigan, it believes in the equitable access to inclusive arts, culture, news, information and educational services, and is invested in employee engagement to promote understanding of the diversity in our community as both a value and a practice.

As a dual licensee and departmental unit of Michigan State University (MSU) and the College of Communication Arts and Sciences, WKAR is engaged in both the university and college’s diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

Diversity Vision Statement

WKAR Public Media will weave the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion into the fabric of its organization to advance racial justice, economic empowerment, and accessibility to education for all.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Defined

DIVERSITY We recognize the different cultures and people that make up our community and therefore, are committed to engaging, understanding, promoting, and fostering a variety of perspectives.
EQUITY We are committed to intentionally and actively redressing barriers, challenging discrimination and bias, and institutionalizing access and resources that address historical and contemporary social inequalities.
INCLUSION We will work towards a high standard of inclusive excellence by partnering with leaders in our community to provide input and insights into our programming, content, and services.

With the benefit of being located on the campus of a major research university where free and open exchange of viewpoints is valued and encouraged, as well as in the heart of the state's capital, WKAR staff, leadership, and governance are committed to acting toward achieving our DEI goals. The station invested in the creation of a senior director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion position to help guide WKAR’s DEI efforts.

Diversity Goals

Provide educational opportunities to WKAR employees on best practices for maintaining an inclusive, equitable and diverse working environment.
Assist in developing a more diverse future workforce with professional skills in the broadcasting/media industry by recruiting candidates for the WKAR internship opportunities through participation in minority or other diversity-based job fairs.
Increase presence at community-based festivals and forums with an emphasis on cultural celebrations such as Hispanic Heritage Month, Native Indigenous Heritage Month, Black History Month, and Pride Festival.
Evaluate the station’s inclusivity and diverse representation in content development and reporting by using DEI metric tools such as a Source Tracker.
Establish relationships and partnerships with community entities that aim to meet the needs of marginalized community members.

As outlined in WKAR’s Strategic Plan, the station is taking action over the next three years to better reflect our community across platforms through our staffing, content, partnerships and the audiences we reach.

Implementation

Source Tracking Tool
A source tracking tool is a data collection tool used by organizations to identify and develop benchmarks aimed at the common goal to be inclusive and equitable in reporting and content development. The tool is currently being used by the WKAR News team. Next steps include adapting the tool for the content production process and the registration/check-in process.

Community Responsive Sessions
In the summer of 2023, WKAR facilitated a series of community-responsive sessions composed of diverse community leaders from across the Mid-Michigan area to develop an understanding of the pressing needs in our community. These sessions will be ongoing as the station works to develop new content and services to serve the evolving needs of our community.

Employee Educational Training
Aside from the mandatory training required by CPB and Michigan State University, WKAR employees self-select to participate in the following DEI trainings and educational opportunities:

Bi-weekly flash DEI training facilitated by the Senior Director of DEI for WKAR and the Director of DEI for the College of Communication Arts and Sciences.
Visits with local community organizations whose aim is to serve the needs of marginalized community groups.
Monthly lunch and learns around diverse cultural traditions such as Hispanic Heritage Month, Indigenous People’s Day, Black History Month, Lunar New Year, and Day of the Dead.

The Senior Director of DEI is also in the process of arranging an annual station-wide DEI training.

Increase Presence in the Community
As part of our commitment to expand our services to more diverse audiences, it is imperative that WKAR be present at events that bring together diverse communities and foster awareness and acceptance of differences. As a result, the senior director of DEI will work to identify events for the WKAR community engagement team. In addition to this goal, the senior director of DEI will work to foster genuine relationships that will lead to partnerships with programming and content development.

Related Resources

By taking advantage of the additional resources offered by Michigan State University, WKAR is proud to utilize, endorse and implement the following:

Annual Diversity Reports

WKAR publishes a yearly Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) report detailing the hiring and outreach practices during the preceding year. It is available under the ‘Public File' section on the website at wkar.org.

In addition, every year Michigan State University compiles a report to reflect diversity and inclusion as dynamic activities that take place at the university each year. The report is presented annually in the spring to the MSU Board of Trustees and is available to the public online. Visit Institutional Diversity and Inclusion > Data and Information: Diversity at MSU

EEO Requirements

All personnel hiring is handled with the Human Resources division of Michigan State University, which exercises its own EEO policy. Further, WKAR will comply with the hiring and reporting practices as required by FCC regulations. Yearly EEO reports are posted on the station's website at wkar.org/public-file.

Employment Statistics

In addition, these documents are available for viewing with the FCC Public File:

Local Content and Services Report

Donor Lists

Donor lists will not be sold, rented, loaned, traded, or otherwise transferred to outside parties. WKAR will periodically remind contributors or donors of this privacy policy.

updated 3/17/2025