At first glance,
one might think the only thing Roy Barnhill and the
legendary sleuth Sherlock Holmes had in common was their distinctive smoking
pipes.
Barnhill is fondly remembered by many Arkansas State University radio-television alumni from his job as the chief engineer of KASU and ASU TV for almost 20 years, beginning in the late 1960s.
But their core commonality was their ability to solve problems.
“My dad was a pack rat,” said Roger Barnhill. “When a piece of equipment at the station would break down, or if the station went off the air, dad would go through gear he’d bought at military surplus sales and find what he needed to get the station back on the air until he could get the right part for a permanent fix. He loved the challenge of fixing problems.”
When Barnhill died in June 2005, his family thought a most fitting tribute would be to establish a scholarship in his name within the Department of Radio-Television at ASU.
Barnhill’s interest in the communications field began in the early days of radio, when he took a National Radio Institute home study course. He worked as a radio repair man until being called to serve in the Army Air Corps during World War II, where he earned the rank of master sergeant as a mechanic and radio operator on a B-24 Liberator bomber.
For several years after the war, he worked as a radio and television repair man, and opened his own business on Huntington Avenue in Jonesboro. He also served as Craighead County’s civil defense coordinator for a time.
During his tenure at Arkansas State, Barnhill oversaw many significant changes in the growing Radio-Television Department. When radio station KASU went to 100,000 watts of stereo broadcasting, he was there. He installed the first television station on the ASU campus.
“Roy Barnhill was the backbone of getting ASU television started,” said Charles Rasberry, emeritus chairman of the Radio-Television Department.
“The station was his life,” said Roger, who himself worked at ASU for 11 years. “Many times I’d go with him out to the transmitter in the dead of night to get the station back on the air. He thrived in emergencies."
When
the College of Communications moved into its new location in the 1980s, Barnhill
and his staff designed its television station. He assisted students as they
learned how to conduct live remote broadcasts of events including ASU football
games and graduation.
“He was so friendly and the students loved him,” said his
daughter-in-law Carol, who also serves as ASU’s director of
Procurement
Services.
“I know students thought of him as their dad away from home,“ Roger said. “He always gave them a shoulder to lean on. His students will remember his philosophy of fixing things.”
The scholarship in Roy Barnhill’s name will assist students majoring in Radio-Television. Roger said it is a fitting tribute to his father.
“If he knew about this scholarship, it would put a big smile on his face,” Roger said. “He loved his students, the faculty and the people he worked with. He’d be glad to know that someone who loved Radio-Television as much as he did would benefit from an education.”
To make an online gift to the Roy Barnhill Memorial Scholarship, which is listed online under the category “Developing and Annually Funded Scholarships,” click here. Or you may send your gift to University Development, P.O. Box 1990, State University AR 72467-1990.
