Ashton Ridley had 15 years experience working in public radio in Las Vegas at KCEP-FM before landing his new role as general manager of UNLV's public radio station, KUNV-FM 91.5 "Jazz and More." Most recently, Ridley served as manager of multicultural affairs for the College of Southern Nevada, where he facilitated student involvement in diversity initiatives, including the Pride Parade and Veterans Day Parade, and he helped host the African-American Student Leadership Summit. Ridley talked to Las Vegas Weekly about his new job, the future of public radio and the importance of student involvement.

Why was KUNV a perfect fit for you?

When I was at KCEP, I went for my bachelor's degree and my master's degree. I actually applied for the operations manager position here [KUNV], and I didn't get it. So I stayed at KCEP a few more years, and a position opened up at CSN. I was like, 'Let's go get some higher-ed experience.' Lo and behold, when I applied for this, it worked out because I [also] had the public radio experience. It was just a great opportunity. At KCEP, I was all about training and motivating students to learn and do better and really understand broadcasting.

Last year, KUNV rebranded itself to "Jazz and More" and cut all of its indie rock, hip-hop and electronic programming, which caused some controversy in the community. Is that direction in line with the mission of KUNV?

Coming into this role, I looked at the mission of KUNV. Its mission is to teach, inspire and connect. [For] the teaching aspect, it doesn't matter what the genre of music is. Whether you work for a commercial station or public radio station, you have to be able to go into that format and perform. And the interacting part, that's where the [digital-only] HD2 [station] is. I came in and I assisted [HD2] in restructuring, so there's a president, a vice president of programming and a vice president of operations. You actually have students who handle the programming, the music, the street team, the underwriting, the membership, so it's giving them that experience in the HD2 space. It's the same as if they were on the FM—they still have to manage the clock; they still have to put music in the system; they still have to plan events.

What is the main difference between HD1—the FM station we hear on the radio—and the digital, student-run station HD2?

Being on HD1 or FM, you're in the marketplace. We still have to provide a service to the community. Now, I'm able to do both, because I can focus on the community aspect of public radio [with] HD1, and I can focus on the teaching, the connecting, the inspiring part [with] HD2. And there's more to come with HD3 and 4. Long term, [our goal] it is to potentially create an HD4 station that is Spanish-speaking, that would allow students the opportunities to grow within this market and other markets.

Do you see a future where KUNV diverts from jazz?

I would say it's "jazz and more," and that "more" is more music and more variety. That's what you're going to hear when you listen on 91.5. On Sundays, we have the blues, we have Hawaiian music—"Little Grass Shack" just celebrated 20 years. We have "Reggae Happenings" and we have ["The Lyons Den"]—that one has a more psychedelic feel to it. Being in this role for roughly two and a half, three months, I'm still looking at the programming side. Coming in, it was looking at the operational side of the station. ... As time goes on, I'll look at the programming elements.

What is the Latinx Voices project, and how is KUNV involved?

It was a grant that was awarded to UNLV Libraries, and it allowed students to get voices from the community and bring them back and tell their stories. ... It's just another collaboration that we have with other entities on campus, which is part of that connecting part of our mission.

KNPR is facing financial hardship. Does that signal any alarm for KUNV?

If you listen to the public radio stations, they're all asking for members, asking for donors, asking for individuals that listen to become members and support the station. It's something that we do. We're here for the community, and we just always need support. Whether you're KUNV, KCEP, KNPR ... we're all in the same realm of public radio, and we have to keep educating our listeners about that. We're public supported. We're member driven. We're your nonprofit, community station here for you when you need us. It's the same message.

To donate to KUNV, visit tinyurl.com/tg4knfb.