by Don Mooney 01-20-2025
Memphis, TN—Consistent in the spirit of service on a chilly MLK holiday, community members attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony, on the campus of HBCU LeMoyne-Owen College, for the grand opening of the new multimedia, innovation hub – The Lowery Communication Center (LCC).
Myron Lowery(l) President Davis and Ena T. Sigee-Cole broadcast live during grand opening. photo by Don Mooney
The installment of LCC is just one of many recent academic chess moves the college has made in the last couple of years positioning LOC competitively for educational excellence. The namesake of the LCC hub honors pioneer Channel 5 News anchor and Mayor Pro Tem of Memphis, Tn Myron Lowery, an LOC alum. The Lowery’s donated the property to the school.
The space will be home to internet radio Magic 807 Radio, LOC TV and podcast programming. Providing LOC students with professional level of experience and opportunity. The space boldly speaks to the mission of commitment and service on part of faculty at the Memphis HBCU.
“We’re, number one, invested in this community, and I believe that you shouldn’t have to sacrifice anything in terms or opportunity because of the segment of the city you happen to live in, boasts LOC president Dr. Christopher Davis. It also speaks to our commitment to making sure students who come to LeMoyne-Owen College will have everything they need, in terms of learning, growing and being trained in an ever-changing job market.”
John Best, General Manager Shelby/Memphis County Schools checking out the equipment. photo by Don Mooney
A collaborative vision of trust and excellence on the part of several key people who humbly pass the praise to each other. iHeart Radio personality Ena T. Sigee-Cole, Kim Bailey, and John Best each play key roles in assembling and organizing the many moving parts to get the project to this point. Best, General Manager of 88.5 Memphis/Shelby County Schools an C-19 TV understands this is such and important project, especially for our young folks. “This is something that can attract the young folks, the high school students, who want to do content creation, that want to do radio. That want to do TV, podcasting, video editing, photography…this is like Oz for our community,” explains Best.
With the broadcast ship launched steps are being taken to build the curriculum in time for the 2025-26 school year. Vice- President of Information Technology and CIO at LeMoyne-Owen Kimberly Bailey envisions this as a space where students can grow and have opportunity in the spirit of master communicator Mr. Lowery. “What we wanted to do is give this space where our students can grow and thrive in areas of communication,” states Ms Bailey
Kimberly Bailey (c) and visitors view live broadcast at Lowery grand opening. photo by Don Mooney
For students who are interested in broadcast-journalism, radio, photography and various fields of communication they will be working with the same quality equipment used in major production houses. Dr. Davis explains quite plainly, “We’re expanding our footprint. We want the community to know…we’re through playing checkers, we’re playing chess!”
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