Alumni Gift Creates New Home for U of A’s Radio Broadcast Center
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – As a student, Candace Dixon-Horne didn’t initially consider pursuing a career in radio broadcast, but the enterprising University of Arkansas alumna did just that and has been a driving force in the radio field for nearly 25 years.
“I was about to graduate and heard a radio ad talking about jobs at that station, but it didn’t really catch my attention,” Dixon-Horne said. “But then, a week or so later I heard a broadcast about the same opportunity, but this time they described it as a ‘career path’ and I realized there was something there and that word choices matter – that the voices connecting to listeners matter.”
Now, thanks to Dixon-Horne and her husband, John Horne, more students in the U of A’s School of Journalism and Strategic Media will soon be able to experience this for themselves and follow in her footsteps to create successful careers in radio.
That’s because the couple decided to support the renovation and creation of the Candace Dixon-Horne Radio Broadcast Center at the school with a gift of $100,000. Their gift counted in Campaign Arkansas, the university’s recently concluded capital campaign that raised nearly $1.45 billion to advance academic opportunity at the U of A.
“Radio is an incredibly powerful medium that has been around for more than 100 years but is still reaching yet another pivotal moment in how the field moves forward,” Dixon-Horne said. “People don’t realize how much radio can accomplish – live radio is interactive with the listener and has the ability to connect, communicate and evoke emotion while podcasts and other digital recordings are expanding our understanding of the recorded word and its reach and impact.”
Thanks to the couple’s gift, the university’s KXUA radio station space was recently fully renovated, and now includes a KXUA recording studio, control rooms, and teaching space, as well as being centrally located to allow synergy and collaboration with the campus TV station and newspaper.
Dixon-Horne said having all the student media outlets located and collaborating together is key to preparing graduates to successfully enter the media field.
“KXUA can do a news update on UATV, or vice versa; we’re on the brink of a whole new era of collaboration,” she said. “No matter what type of media you’re in, being able to provide a good soundbite, to connect with people through the power of your voice, to be genuine and trustworthy, that is so needed. Now is the time for students to learn these skills, to build them and add them to their resumes.”
Larry Foley, chair of the School of Journalism and Strategic Media agreed, adding, “Candace was among the first group of students I had the pleasure of teaching when I arrived on campus in the 90s, and we’ve become great friends over the years.”
“I’ve watched her impressive career in radio with great pride,” he said. “She and John really wanted to do something special, that would make a difference, and they’ve done just that. This gift is a real game changer. It completes our student media center, providing us with facilities that compete or exceed broadcast teaching facilities anywhere.”
A dedication ceremony for the new Candace Dixon-Horne Radio Broadcast Center was held on Nov. 5, which included tours of the new facilities given by students active in radio broadcast and other student media areas.
The event also featured a reading of a proclamation given by Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, which thanked the Hornes for their generosity and for dedicating their personal and professional lives to making a positive difference in their home state of Arkansas.
The Candace Dixon-Horne Radio Broadcast Center is adjacent to the Sue Walk Burnett Center for Journalism and Student Media in Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences’ Kimpel Hall.
This location is at the heart of the U of A’s main campus, said Todd Shields, dean of Fulbright College.
“It’s just so fitting that the living legacy Candace and John have created is in such an integral and meaningful part of our campus,” Shields said. “Not only are Candace and John all-around great people I’m proud to call friends, but what they’ve created will benefit generations of students and journalists. In Candace and John our students also have tangible proof of where a U of A education can lead – these alumni are truly inspirational.”
Candace Dixon-Horne is a 1997 graduate with a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism and John Horne is a 1995 graduate with an M.B.A. from the Sam M. Walton College of Business.
