TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY-KINGSVILLE PRESIDENT IS NEW AMATEUR HAM RADIO LICENSEE

(KINGSVILLE, November 7, 1996) -- Kingsville's newest licensed amateur ham radio operator is Texas A&M-Kingsville President Dr. Manuel L. Ibàñez who recently passed the exam in fulfillment a lifelong dream and to give the campus radio club some visibility.

Ibáñez, who has had an interest in amateur radio since his teens but deferred sitting for the Federal Communications Commission exam because of studies and family responsibilities, said he hoped his example would stimulate interest in the club and interest in electronics by students at A&M-Kingsville.

The president, in turn, was inspired by long-time ham operators and retired university faculty S. Burgin Dunn and George Williges, who served as Ibáñez's mentors, or "elmers" in ham radio parlance. "They both assisted me greatly," he said, "and I am grateful for their help."

Dunn, a retired physics faculty member who has been advisor of the Rawls Memorial Amateur Radio Club since its inception in 1975, said he considered it "an honor for someone of the president's stature to be even remotely interested in radio." Williges, a retired biology professor, was one of the first faculty to join the club.

Dunn said Ibàñez getting his license should encourage others to get involved with the club and pursue their licensing ambitions.

The club is named for a deceased employee of the Kingsville FCC Monitoring Station who left his estate to support the organization. It has been active in a number of activities to provide communication in times of emergency. During the devastating Mexico City earthquake a few years ago the club was on the air for 10 days relaying messages between students in Kingsville and their families in Mexico. In addition, club member Dr. Robert Diersing of the Department of Accounting and Computer Information Systems communicated with the STS70 satellite flight, resulting in the club being designated as an official NASA communications station.

-TAMUK-
- Ron Hamm