Ralph M. Jennings, 1938-2024

Ralph Jennings,  who led WFUV as its general manager from 1985 to 2011, passed away on October 9, 2024. He was 86 years old. Across his tenure, Jennings was a defining force in WFUV's transition from a college station to an impactful NPR member station at the top of its format in public radio.

Known as “Doctor J” inside the station, “Ralph laid the groundwork for a public radio service that is known and appreciated by hundreds of thousands of weekly listeners in New York and beyond,” said Chuck Singleton, Jennings’ successor as general manager.

Under Jennings’ vision and guidance, WFUV solidified its music discovery mission, expanded its student training program and established its advisory board and community advisory board. He initiated WFUV’s award-winning “Strike A Chord” public service program, and added live streaming. Jennings oversaw WFUV’s 2006 upgrade to state-of-the-art studios and the construction of a new broadcast transmission facility. “Ralph also hired many of us who currently staff the station,” said Singleton.

A scholar of the history of public broadcasting, Jennings was erudite and at home in Fordham’s academic environment. “What’s more,” said Singleton, “Ralph probably had two full careers before stepping up to lead WFUV.” In the 1960s, Jennings worked at WRVR, then a station at Riverside Church, producing radio features and documentaries, including covering the civil rights movement. Later, he served as deputy director under Everett C. Parker of the Office of Communication at the United Church of Christ, where he worked on the successful landmark case to challenge and remove the license of a notoriously biased television station, WLBT, in Jackson, Mississippi. He continued to work with the UCC and other nonprofits to organize and train community groups all across the country to fight discriminatory hiring and programming practices among radio and television broadcasters. Ralph was also instrumental in starting Mississippi's first public radio station, WMPR-FM (90.1).

“Ralph was a fighter – against injustice in society and within the media, and for financial support of public broadcasting stations,” said Singleton. “All of us who love WFUV owe Ralph our gratitude.”

The New York Times featured Dr. Jennings upon his retirement from WFUV in 2011, and Fordham Magazine described Jennings' tenure upon the station's 75th anniversary in 2023.

Before his passing, Jennings requested that any charitable donations in his memory go to support WFUV.