Nathan Gibbs, GM of KACU in Abilene, Texas, has stepped down after leading the public radio station for nearly nine years.
Gibbs has accepted a faculty position at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego to be closer to family, he told Current.
Heather Claborn, the station’s news director, became interim station manager Thursday, he said.
During his tenure, KACU regained its rural status in CPB’s Community Service Grant program, changed frequencies and transitioned to all news and talk during weekdays.
Prior to joining KACU, Gibbs spent nine years at KPBS in San Diego.
One thing he noticed after joining KACU was that “what works” for big stations doesn’t necessarily work for small ones, he said. “You have to understand the local community, understand the needs and learn to program for them. That doesn’t always mean doing what the big stations are doing.”
Gibbs got his start in public radio in 1998 as an announcer at KACU.
“It was my honor to be able to work in this community,” he said.