The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay’s new Media Hub provides students with authentic learning experiences that will better prepare them when entering the workforce.

The hub includes updated radio and television equipment along with the Frank Wood Media Newsroom, which provides a new space for students to collaborate, develop ideas and work together. Wood, a 2011 inductee into Wisconsin Newspaper Hall of Fame, had “ink running through his veins” and owned 34 newspapers, says his son, Pat Wood, publisher of Multi Media Channels, LLC

“My dad (Frank) always wanted everyone’s voice heard in his newspapers,” he says. “He would appreciate the work being done by the University to provide more opportunities for students to share their voices.”

Wood met with Chuck Rybak, Dean of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, to look at opportunities to honor him, including the creation of an internship program. “My dad was humble and didn’t seek much recognition during his life. We wanted to do something to recognize him and this was a good fit,” he says.

Danielle Bina, an Associate Professor in Communications, says students using the space gain hands-on learning experiences.

“They will be very prepared when they head out into the workforce. We have a lot of technology in this place. It’s a sharable space for the campus as a whole,” she says. “We are excited to have students here and watching them fly.”

Mallory Allen, who graduates this spring with a bachelor’s degree in communications, agrees.

“I like how true-to-form the Media Hub is. When you look at the equipment we get to use and the space we get to learn in, it’s what we’d see in the ‘real-world’ and what those of us who pursue careers in the media will use,” she says.

The new space moves the University closer to its goal of returning student-run media to the campus, Bina says. “To me, that’s the most exciting parts of this project,” she said.

Associate Professor Bryan Carr — a driving force behind the campus’ new student radio station — says a student-run organization will operate the station.

“They will need to create a succession plan so they can keep the programs going. The seniors will teach the younger students,” he says. “It will be exciting to watch.”

Carr says the new production center has high-definition video cameras, one-touch recording systems, multi-track audio production and voiceover booths.

“They will be able to do any kind of studio production here,” he says.

While taking a video production class, Allen had the opportunity to us the new space and along with her classmates produced their own television shows.

“We all took turns of being on the floor running the news cameras or working in the control room serving as the director, technical director, audio master and more,” she says. “Having the space and equipment to engage in such original, hands-on learning experiences was so cool. It’s going to be a real gamechanger for students.”