Tony Krabill of WVPE to lead 91.1 The Globe

Tony Krabill has been appointed the new general manager of 91.1 The Globe, Goshen College’s student-run radio station, and will begin his role on July 1.

Krabill brings nearly two decades at 88.1 WVPE-FM, the National Public Radio station for Elkhart County, where he currently serves as program director.

Krabill will join this role alongside Jason Samuel ’93, who will be committing 75% of his time as the head coach of the new men’s and women’s disc golf teams.

A native of Iowa, Krabill is a graduate of Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, where he served as its college radio station manager. He also worked in Christian radio in Ohio and for Mennonite Mission Network.

Krabill appreciates the welcome he has received from GC students. “That was one of the reasons that I accepted the position, because I felt like I developed enough of a rapport in that brief period with the student staff [to think] I can do this,” Krabill said. “I’m 58 years old, and I can still relate to college students.”

Samuel will remain involved in an advisory role at The Globe, with Krabill inheriting most of his teaching duties. He has visions of educating students in NPR-style audio storytelling.

Samuel welcomes the opportunity to work with another experienced member of the non-commercial radio world. “Instead of being a one-man wolf pack, now we’ve got a dynamic duo,” Samuel said.

Krabill will teach courses such as COMM 260, Broadcast Writing, and COMM 360, Broadcasting for the Public Good. Kyle Hufford, professor of communication and chair of the department, said he wants to give Krabill the freedom to transform the courses he is teaching in order to fully implement his expertise: “That’s what all of our curriculum is in this department, because things are constantly changing.”

Samuel also believes that Krabill has the work ethic needed to lead a non-commercial radio station. “The Globe is hard. It’s hard work if you really care about it, and you’ve got to have a certain mentality. Tony’s got that,” he said.

This spring, Duane Stoltzfus ’81, professor of communication and past-chair, retired from 26 years of teaching. He continues at GC serving as grant director of More Than Just Stories. Despite the fact that Stoltzfus and Samuel will maintain offices at GC, Hufford believes that next year, the department will have a new look.

“We’re gaining new people, and at the same time, we’re retaining that institutional knowledge with Jason and Duane,” Hufford said. “If there’s ever a question or anything, they’re right there, so I think it’s all addition and not subtraction.”

Adapted from an article by Liam Shaw from The Record