Gene Shay
Introduction


**Gene Shay** (born **Ivan Shaner**; March 4, 1935 – April 17, 2020\) was an American radio personality. Shay was born in [Philadelphia](/wiki/Philadelphia "Philadelphia"), Pennsylvania, to a [Jewish](/wiki/Jews "Jews") family and was a representative of the city's [folk music](/wiki/Folk_music "Folk music") scene. Beginning in 1962, he produced a weekly folk radio shows on [WXPN](/wiki/WXPN "WXPN"), which was last broadcast on February 1, 2015\. He previously hosted shows on [WDAS\-FM](/wiki/WDAS-FM "WDAS-FM"), [WMMR](/wiki/WMMR "WMMR"), [WIOQ](/wiki/WIOQ "WIOQ") and [WHYY\-FM](/wiki/WHYY-FM "WHYY-FM"). 

A founder of the annual [Philadelphia Folk Festival](/wiki/Philadelphia_Folk_Festival "Philadelphia Folk Festival") and its emcee since its inception, he has been called the "Dean of American folk DJs" by the *[Philadelphia Daily News](/wiki/Philadelphia_Daily_News "Philadelphia Daily News")* and "The Grandfather of Philadelphia Folk Music" by *[The Philadelphia Inquirer](/wiki/The_Philadelphia_Inquirer "The Philadelphia Inquirer")*. Shay also served as a host for the online "Folk Alley" stream originating at [Kent State University](/wiki/Kent_State_University "Kent State University") station [WKSU](/wiki/WKSU "WKSU") and carried on WXPN's website.


Does Gene Shay have any notable connections to Kent State University?