Mark Estren collection on WESU

What would come to be called WESU began in 1939 when two students living in Clark Hall connected a transmitter to a phonograph and began broadcasting 78 rpm records. To provide a signal to other buildings, they extended ran their antenna wire though the utility tunnels which connected the buildings. The station quickly became a campus fixture, broadcasting throughout the Middletown area in the early 1940's on an AM signal with the under the call letters WES. In 1950, updated Federal Communications Commission law granted the station its four-letter WESU. In 1965, sophomore Mark Estren became general manager. During his three-year tenure, WESU enjoyed phenomenal success, with the staff increasing from 8 to over 150. The station received several national spotlights, including several on-air endurance marathons by DJ Jeffrey Taylor, and was showcased as the December 1967 "Station of the Month" in the magazine College Radio.

The collection consists of Estren's collection of WESU program guides from 1961 to 1968 and a collection of news items and press releases from his time as general manager. Estren also served as music director, program director, and a member of the WESU board of directors. He graduated in 1968.