Mike Wood has been named interim director of radio and general manager of KMUW effective today (Thursday, Dec. 12).

A national search will be conducted to find a permanent director and general manager, according to Tony Vizzini, vice president for Academic Affairs at Wichita State University.

Longtime KMUW 89.1 broadcaster Mark McCain announced his resignation as general manager effective Dec. 2. He had served as the station’s general manager since 1994. KMUW is the public radio station at Wichita State University.

“Mike’s background and experience is precisely what is needed during this transition,” said Vizzini. “His past service to WSU was commendable. I am pleased that he would return from his retirement for this opportunity and grateful for his dedication to WSU.”

Wood was executive director of WSU’s Media Resources Center from 1990 until his retirement in May 2013. He led the center in programming at KMUW and cable television station WSU-TV, designing multimedia classrooms, providing distance education via interactive television and the Web, and digital promotional materials.

After completing his Master of Fine Arts, Wood worked in various capacities at 20th Century Fox Studios in Los Angeles and was a directing intern with the American Film Institute. He has written and directed a number of award-winning films and videos.

Wood taught an Introduction to Film class for the Elliott School from 1995-2011. He also supervised coop interns for the Tallgrass Film Festival, and taught a one-credit course on the films of Alfred Hitchcock in the fall 2012 semester.

Wood’s research interest was American playwrights. He conducted interviews with Arthur Miller, Edward Albee, Neil Simon and 20 other playwrights.