Curt Mueller (’57 BS Pharm)

Tuning into Opportunity

College radio was more than a diversion for Bruce Ravid (’74 BBA BUS). It was a pastime that turned into a career.

He came to the University of Wisconsin-Madison from Oak Park-River Forest High School in west suburban Chicago as a freshman who wanted to major in accounting.

But he loved rock’n’roll and had grown up listening to Chicago Top 40 DJs like John Landecker, Bob Sirott and Larry Lujack, not to mention Cub games on WGN-AM.

“I was walking around campus, and I saw postings for openings at what was then WSRM radio,” a dormitory-only station located in Ogg Hall, he said. Bruce did some behind-the-scenes work until an on-air shift opened up for him. From his sophomore year on, Bruce was the music director for WSRM.

Playing music and meeting performers was a lot of fun, but Bruce was planning on going to the University of Southern California to work on a master’s degree in business administration after earning his marketing degree.

“Then Capitol Records contacted me in my senior year and asked me to come to Chicago for an interview,” he said.

Capitol offered him a job, and after graduation, Bruce spent five years working in radio promotion before becoming an artist and repertoire man, the one who, for unsigned acts, holds the keys to the kingdom.

In that role, Bruce had a steady stream of success, hitting big with such acts as Duran Duran, Iron Maiden, the Knack, Thomas Dolby and the Motels. He also worked with Weird Al Yankovic and Missing Persons.

“It sounds like a cliché, but college radio changed my life,” said Bruce, who now owns the executive search firm Ravid and Associates in southern California. “I had this great career in music, and it all started because of college radio in Madison.”

With his resume, it should come as no surprise that Bruce is a supporter of the University’s WSUM-FM (91.7) through the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. He has made gifts to the station, returns to campus to offer advice and emotional support to the student staff, and even chips in hard-to-find recordings for on-air use. He also has established the Bruce Ravid Music Industry Award for top performers at WSUM.

“Bruce Ravid is a long-time supporter of WSUM – even before we were an Internet-only station beginning in 1996, which was before we were a broadcast station beginning in 2002,” said Dave Black, WSUM general manager. “Bruce has enthusiastically and kindly shared the history of student radio on this campus since his involvement with WSRM in the basement of Gordon Commons in the 1970s.

“He contributes his time, his discoveries of new music, his perspective on musical trends, personal anecdotes about famous bands that he has worked with and strong encouragement for students involved at the station,” Dave said. “His success in the music industry gives hope and inspiration to our students who aspire to do the same thing.

“Furthermore, his monetary support and the creation of the Bruce Ravid Music Industry Award, which he presents personally every year to our hardest working music department members, makes it possible for us to provide great learning and team-building opportunities to our students,” Dave said. “Bruce is a teacher, a student, a generous alumnus and a true friend who is actively involved in what we do.

Bruce is a fan of the general manager, too. “In the mid-‘90s, I was interested in contributing and helping the station in any way I possibly could,” he said. “Dave invited me to be a guest speaker, and I was able to see his incredible ability to connect with students. He’s able to be both a mentor and a peer, and you can see how they respond to him.”

In addition to his support for WSUM, Bruce has contributed to the UW Comprehensive Cancer Center in memory of his parents. He also has given to the marching band and to non-revenue-producing sports, including women’s softball, men’s swimming and crew. In fact, he named a crew team locker in the new Porter Boathouse and a softball locker at the Goodman complex.

“When I lived in Seattle in the ‘90s, I got to know a lot of the rowers when they made biennial visits to the area” to train and compete, he said. “The work ethic of these young men and women is just amazing; they’re up at dawn, they work hard, and they go to class and carry that load as well. It’s really inspiring.”

Bruce was head of the Los Angeles alumni chapter for about five years and remains involved. He’s also established a bequest “because I found it was the most effective way to eventually contribute to some favorite UW causes on a monetary level that wouldn't otherwise be possible,” he said. “We're in discussions for me to fund a couple of partial scholarships in addition to a specific salaried student position at WSUM.

“The idea of connecting with current students has always been a motivating factor for me when it comes to donating,” he said. “One of the most gratifying benefits of endowing an instrument in the UW Band is that I've been able to follow my students through their collegiate careers.”

And, as could be expected, he follows the offerings of WSUM through its streaming Internet signal, which can be found at www.wsum.org/main.php.

“The station just keeps getting better and better,” he said. “You can really hear the passion of the people doing it.”