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106.3 Norman
105.7 Oklahoma City/Spencer
103.1 Seminole
97.9 Ada
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Click on a name to view the bio
Karen Holp
General Manager
Karen has her Master (1974) and Bachelor (1972) degrees from the University of Akron in Ohio, and has worked as Program Director at WMRA-FM, James Madison University in Harrisonburg Virginia and WUIS-FM, University of Illinois at Springfield. She moved to Las Cruces, New Mexico in 1979 to become General Manager of KRWG-FM. Karen became an Oklahoman in 1988 when she came to the University of Oklahoma. In addition to being General Manager of KGOU Radio, she is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the School of Journalism, teaching the Radio News course each semester that results in Assignment: Radio, heard biweekly on Sundays at noon during the regular semesters. She is also faculty of record for other practicum and internship opportunities through OU School of Journalism.
Karen is very active in public radio affairs: she has served a six-year term on the Board of Directors of National Public Radio from 1988-1994, and has been a participant on a wide variety of panels and committees for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, NPR and others. Karen is the current Treasurer of Western States Public Radio and Chair of the Board of Rocky Mountain Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Karen also serves on the Board of Directors of Freedom of Information Oklahoma, an organization that works to preserve the First Amendment.
She is a board member and treasurer of Jazz in June, Inc. She previously has served on the board of Neighborhood Alliance, Inc. in Oklahoma City.
Patrick Roberts
Chief Engineer
A Sapulpa native who grew up in the Oklahoma City metro area, Patrick Roberts serves as KGOU’s Chief of Engineering, maintaining the technical aspects of both stations. Previously, Patrick worked with KOMA-FM, KMGL, and 50,000 watt KOKC (formerly KOMA-AM) for 14 years and served as KRXO’s Chief Engineer.
As one of the newest members of the KGOU staff, he currently spends most of his time under consoles, at transmitter sites, at the workbench, and in front of the computer screen trying to solve problems.
Patrick enjoys FM Broadcast DX (distant station listening) and holds Amateur Radio license KA5ZYM.
"Hardluck" Jim Johnson
Program Director & Host
of the Weekend Blues
Born November 18, 1968, I have happily
spent most of my life in Oklahoma. I am a Midwest City High School graduate
of the class of '87. From there I settled in Norman where I attended the
University of Oklahoma.
Somehow, I found my way to the Journalism
Department and decided upon a career in radio. Much of this inspiration
was due to KGOU/KROU (then just KGOU) and those I met while serving as
a volunteer for the station.
In 1992, I became host of what is now
the "Weekend Blues" on KGOU/KROU and shortly thereafter completed my degree
requirements for the College of Arts and Sciences. By this time however,
I had become completely wrapped in the Blues and my devotion for the station...so
rather than move on, here I stay...happily enjoying my #1 hobby as host
of the "Weekend Blues" each Saturday and Sunday from 1p.m. to 5 p.m.
Susan K. Shannon
Office Manager
Susan K Shannon was born in Pawhuska, Oklahoma on September 22nd,
1954. She is a member of the Osage
Nation and the daughter of George A Shannon and the late Mary Agnes Wagoshe
(way-gosh-shee). Her father is also an OU graduate who upon graduation was
offered a job in San Francisco, so Susan spent her early years there until the
family moved back to Oklahoma. She graduated from Tulsa Memorial High School in
1973. After having attended OU in
the mid-1970’s, she returned in August of 1991 and got her degree in Native
American Studies in 1996 with a minor in Film/Video studies. She began working
at KGOU Radio station fulltime in July of 1996. This enabled her to become staff
sponsor for the newly formed Native American Women & Others For
Multicultural Preservation. In 1997, NAWOMP began sponsoring the OU Native Art
Show and later the “Native Poets and Open Mic Night” at the Jacobson House.
She has been the office manager at KGOU since July 1996 and in 1997 did her first
story for National Native News. In August of 2001, she was invited to
Anchorage, Alaska for training and to meet the staff. Through those contacts she was given a full scholarship to attend the Native
American Journalists Association training conference in San Diego.
She has been a Ford Foundation scholarship
recipient, which enabled her to attend the National
Federation of Community Broadcasters Conference in San Francisco, where the
first day was devoted to Native American broadcasters. She contributes stories to the locally produced radio show “Oklahoma
Voices” focusing on native people and events.
Her photographs have been in OU Native Art shows as well as Gilcrease Museum
and the State Capitol. She has participated in her tribal ceremonials since she was three
years old and received her Indian name from then-Chief Paul Pitts. She is a member of the Deer Clan.
Chad Mitchell
Jazz Announcer & Global Jazz Wire Producer
Fav. Sax Player: Dexter Gordon
Fav. Jazz Artist: Pat Metheny
How did you get into radio?
I was in the Music building and happened to see a flyer
asking for volunteer help at the campus station. At the time, I was bored
with my current courses and felt that some experience outside of engineering
might be a good idea. I already had some experience with audio equipment from
traveling with my high school jazz band and various rock groups, so the station put me on the payroll,
eventually in charge of production. Meanwhile, I started doing Friday
nights on the air, and now all I do is on-air work.
What got you interested in jazz music?
To tell you the truth, it was a fairly slow progression.
The first encounter I had with jazz-style music was in high school marching
band. Yeah, I know, most of that stuff is about as far from jazz as you
can get, but a lot of the tunes we played had that undercurrent to them.
So my first
real involvement was in a big band style format. We played a few standards,
of course, but most of the guys were really into more modern arrangements.
We used a lot of tunes from artists like Maynard Ferguson and Chuck Mangione.
I really became more interested in the Fusion end of jazz, since I still
listened to rock music. As a saxophone player, however, I couldn't help
but start to pick up on cats like Dexter Gordon and John Coltrane. At first
it was just their playing that turned me on, but the more you listen, the
more the music hits home. The more time you spend around the music,
the more it becomes a part of your life.
It always seems to me that many people try to give
these narrow definitions to jazz, and I suppose that it can be codified
that way. To me, though, jazz is really indefinable by nature. It doesn't
mean the use of certain instruments in a certain way. If I had to define
it, I'd simply say Jazz is flexibility. It changes in response to not only
the musician, but his audience. It's also about openness to the new, the
different. A perfect example is the world music that I play on Global Jazz
Wire. Initially, most people wonder why this music is on a "jazz"
station. Most jazz listeners enjoy hearing something a little different,
however, and bringing in music from places like Africa, Pakistan, and Bulgaria
really stretches their musical boundaries. Personally, Saturdays have become
my favorite night on KGOU for that reason.
Jolly Brown
Development Director
Jolly Brown has served as KGOU’s Manager of Development since September, 2000.
From 1995 to 1998, Jolly was the Morning Edition Host and Senior News Producer for KGOU
and was an underwriting consultant from 1998 to 2000. Before her arrival at KGOU, Jolly worked
for seven years at commercial radio station KEBC in Oklahoma City, both in sales and as an on-air
announcer. She also spent two and a half years at KGMC-TV, Channel 34 in Oklahoma City.
Jolly earned her B.A. in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma in 1985, graduating with distinction.
She is currently on the board of Jaymac, the alumni association of OU’s Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication.
She also has served as secretary of the Norman Arts Council roundtable.
Jolly enjoys singing and musical theater. She and her husband, Greg, stay very busy with their three children, Michael, Allison and Tyler.
Laura KnollMembership Services Director
Laura came home to KGOU after a career in radio news at several commercial
stations in Oklahoma City. As a Journalism student at OU, she received
her early radio experience at KGOU. After graduating, she began her
career at KNOR in Norman as a news reporter and anchor. Laura served as
morning co-anchor at WKY in the mid-1980's, then worked at KTOK as
morning news producer and general assignment reporter. In 2003 she joined the
news department at KOMA. Laura has won several awards for news writing
from the Associated Press, Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters, the
Society of Professional Journalists, and the Oklahoma Education
Association.
Laura currently serves on the board of the Society of Professional Journalists, Oklahoma Pro Chapter, in the office of Secretary.
A Norman native and graduate of Moore High School, Laura earned her
Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma in 1983.
Laura and husband David are kept entertained and busy by daughter Marina.
Kurt Gwartney
News Director
Kurt began his radio career at 16 as weekend disc jockey at KOLS-AM/KKMA-FM (now KMYZ) in Pryor, Okla. He gradually began doing news work at his home town radio station. Kurt studied journalism at Oklahoma State University, serving two terms as managing editor of "The Daily O'Collegian." He returned to his radio roots while at Oklahoma State, working first as a part-time news producer, then as Morning Edition host at KOSU. Kurt left the station in 1990 returning to Pryor to be a part of a new business, ViaGrafix, that developed computer training videos. He eventually sold his business to attend seminary at The Iliff School of Theology in Denver and Phillips Theological Seminary in Tulsa, Okla. He served as minister of communications for St. Luke's United Methodist Church in Oklahoma City for five years before starting his own media business, Discuss Communications LLC. In 2005, he once again returned to radio as the operations manager and Morning Edition anchor at KGOU.
Kurt is a certified United Methodist Communicator, member of the Association of Independents in Radio, and Spiritual Directors International. He now lives in Choctaw, Okla. with his wife, the Rev. Charla Gwartney, and daughter, Elizabeth.
Annelise Russell
Operations Assistant
Annelise is a sophomore from Norman, majoring in Political Science and Journalism through the OU Honors College. She writes for the Oklahoma Daily and will cover women's basketball next year, and she also works on OU's newscasts on cable TV, OU Nightly and Our Sports Pad.
Outside of class, Annelise is a member of the OU Young Democrats club and has studied dance for more than 10 years.
Logan Layden
News Assistant
Logan is a senior in the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication. He currently hosts the afternoon news, traffic and weather updates during All Things Considered, and also produces segments for our student program Assignment: Radio.
Brian Hardzinski
Operations Manager Public Service Director
A native of the "other" side of the Red River, Brian Hardzinski grew up in Dallas but eventually came to OU for college. He began his career at KGOU as an unpaid student intern assisting with various production and operations tasks, before spending two years producing and hosting Assignment: Radio and occasionally filling in during All Things Considered. Prior to returning to Oklahoma, Brian worked as a freelance producer and sound recordist for six months before coming home to KGOU as the Operations and Public Service Announcement Director, a capacity he began serving in January 2009. Brian’s past work with KGOU has been honored by the Oklahoma Broadcast Education Association, local and regional chapters of the Society of Professional Journalists, and the William Randolph Hearst Foundation.
Brian graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2008 with degrees in Broadcast Journalism and History. A Norman resident, Brian enjoys bowling, reading, playing tennis, learning to cook, and religiously following Sooner football both on Saturdays during the fall and beyond.
Kate Callahan
Development Assistant
Kate Callahan is a senior from Edmond, double-majoring in Letters and International Studies through the OU Honors College. She just returned from studying abroad in Italy this summer. She has interned with Oklahoma Today and World Literature Today magazines as well as serving as the editor of Windmill, OU’s student literary journal.
Her love of KGOU and NPR programming began at an early age, when her dad would tune in while taking her to elementary school. She’s been an avid listener since.
In her free time Kate reads, makes travel plans, collects home decorating magazines, runs, bakes, cheers for OU's football team, listens to music and, of course, enjoys spending time with family and friends.
Andrew Brown
Student Intern, Assignment: Radio
Andrew is a Broadcast and Electronic Media senior, and is also president of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, a music fraternity. He also works part-time for the OU IT Department, and has ambitions toward working in online gaming as well as radio. In his spare time, Andrew writes music and keeps his ears to the ground for up-and-coming bands.
Will Holland
Student Intern, Assignment: Radio
Will is a junior majoring in Journalism who hails from Grapevine, Texas. Will's ambitions include law school and environmental law. In his spare time, Will loves to write, read, run, and hang out with friends and family. On campus, Will is in Phi Delta Theta fraternity, works for The Oklahoma Daily, and is a Gaylord Ambassador.
Kathy Hawkins
Business Manager
Kathy is a life-long Oklahoman, and joined KGOU in July 2006. It's significant that she began work at the beginning of a fiscal year because Kathy's responsibilities include creating annual budgets, planning purchases, reconciling accounts, preparing records for audit, and tracking KGOU financials.
Kathy has worked in accounting and business aspects in both the public and private sectors, and has been part of the larger University of Oklahoma family for more than 16 years. She brings her expertise working with the administration, faculty, staff, and students at OU.
Kathy and husband Max live southeast of Norman.
Gernethia Rich
Student Intern, Assignment: Radio
Gernethia is a Broadcast and Electronic Media junior from Washington, D.C. She currently serves as president of the OU Chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists, and she is Corresponding Secretary of the Kappa Alpha chapter of Delta Sigma Theta sorority. She enjoys traveling, shopping and spending time with family and friends. Gernethia is already planning for a Master's degree in Journalism and hopes to eventually work as a producer or director.
Graham Lee Brewer
News Assistant Producer and Host, Assignment: Radio
Graham Lee Brewer is an undergraduate senior majoring in Professional Writing, planning to work toward a master's degree after graduating next spring.
Graham has written music articles and reviews for several local and national publications, serving as Music Editor for both Boyd Street magazine and NONzine, and freelancing for the Oklahoma Gazette. He currently writes for NONzine, Sophie Zine, Oklahomarock.com, and Heave Media, as well as his own music blog, Sound Interpreting. Graham has interviewed such renowned musicians as Wayne Coyne, Ian McKaye, Bela Fleck, J. Mascis, and Mason Jennings.
Logan Layden
News Assistant
Chrysta Daebler
Student Intern, Production and Operations
Chrysta is a senior in the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication. Her hometown is Lawton, OK.
Katrina Smith
Student Intern, Production and Operations
Katrina hails from Blanchard, OK, and is a senior in the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication. She has 11 brothers and sisters! Katrina aspires to a career in broadcasting, either in radio or television.
Cara Bailey
Student Intern, Assignment: Radio
Cara is a Journalism senior with a minor in Spanish. She loves the outdoors and hopes to someday travel and write for a publication such as National Geographic or Backpacker magazine.
Corey Davidson
Student Intern, Production and Operations
Corey Davidson is a Norman freshman pursuing a degree in Film and Video Studies. He hopes to write movie scripts someday.
Grace Fredrickson
Student Intern, Production and Operations
Grace Fredrickson is a junior, majoring in Broadcast and Electronic Media in the Gaylord College of Journalism. She grew up in Oklahoma City.
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