After 24 years of service at Missouri Southern, Dr. Robert Clark is retiring.

Webster Hall did not exist when Clark started working for Southern in July 1984, and Southern lacked the radio and television stations that its students now enjoy.

“When I came here, I trained the students how to operate all of the equipment in the television studio, which used to be across campus,” Clark said.

The television station was just beginning when Clark began his work at Southern, and the radio equipment had not yet been ordered.

“When I came here they were installing the television equipment, and nothing had been done on the radio,” he said.

The television station later moved on-air and Clark moved to the radio station.

“We had some difficulties because the FCC put a freeze on non-commercial broadcast stations in December 1983, on FM bands between 88 to 92,” Clark said.

The FM bands in this range seeped into two Channel 6 television stations, so the FCC forced the station to request permission from television stations to air its music.

“We had to get permission from those stations to air because of the freeze,” Clark said. “Central gave permission right off, but Tulsa required us to vertically polarize our antenna and run at two thirds power.”

The freeze was finally lifted in 1987 and the antenna was raised. The radio station also went to its full power of 10 kilowatts.

Clark has not made any plans yet about his retirement.