Wisconsin Public Radio has announced that Tom Luljak will serve as the network’s interim director while it searches for a person to fill the role permanently.
Luljak will take over for Mike Crane, who left the network Oct. 1 to become the policy and planning analyst for the UW-Madison Division of Wisconsin Public Media, one of WPR’s parent organizations. WPR’s news release about Luljack says the network hopes to find a permanent replacement in 2022.
Luljak retired earlier this year from UW-Milwaukee, where he was vice chancellor for University Relations & Communications. His resume also includes a period as news director of WTMJ-TV and radio in Milwaukee.
The position is being filled through a contract with the National Educational Telecommunications Association (NETA).
“I have been a listener and a fan of public radio for as long as I can remember, so when I heard about this opportunity to serve WPR, I couldn’t pass it up. I have enormous respect for the work done by the great team of professionals at WPR and I look forward to working through NETA to help them continue to thrive during this transition,” Luljak was quoted as saying in the news release.
WPR and PBS Wisconsin are operated by UW-Madison and the Wisconsin Educational Communications Board.