The University of Massachusetts Amherst
Robert S. Cox Special Collections & University Archives Research Center
CredoResearch digital collections in Credo

WMUA (Radio station : Amherst, Mass.)

WMUA Records

1947-2022 Bulk: 1985-2014
9 boxes 4.5 linear feet
Call no.: RG 45/30 W6

Unidentified DJ in the WMUA master control room, ca. 1985

WMUA is UMass’ student/community run non-commercial FM radio station. In continuous operation since 1948, initially as an AM station, it serves the campus and surrounding communities in the Pioneer Valley and can be heard from the Connecticut to the Vermont border. Beginning in 1948, as students were first establishing the station, WMUA has been a constant presence on campus, weathering budget cuts, leadership upheavals and the rise and fall of radio as a dominant medium.

The records of WMUA document the history of a particularly long-lived organization at the
University of Massachusetts Amherst and reflect the changing culture of the campus. In addition to some administrative and financial records, the collection includes a number of promotional materials, newsclippings, photographs and recordings that reflect the history of the organization. Also noteworthy is a history of WMUA written in 1963 to commemorate its 15th anniversary as well as several oral histories with station alum from different eras. There are also press clippings, ephemera, press releases and recordings from the acclaimed Magic Triangle Jazz Series.

Additionally, there are hundreds of analog and digital recordings of shows that span three decades of the station’s history, with the bulk from 1987-2012. A separate, growing, inventory of the recordings is also available which includes descriptions, dates, and formats of the recordings.

A documentary about WMUA in the 1960s was produced by Stuart Goldman, an alumnus of the station, in 2021.

WMUA | Glenn Siegel, 2008-2013,

Subjects

College radio stations--Massachusetts--Amherst (Mass.)FM broadcastingPublic affairs radio programsStudent activities--Massachusetts--Amherst (Mass.)WMUA (Radio station : Amherst, Mass.)

Contributors

Siegel, GlennUniversity of Massachusetts AmherstWMUA (Radio station : Amherst, Mass.)

Types of material

CorrespondenceFinancial recordsFliers (printed matter)Manuals (instructional materials)PostersRadio programsSchedules (time plans)
Restrictions: none none