Chartock retiring after 4 decades at WAMC

After more than 40 years at the helm of WAMC Northeast Public Radio, Dr. Alan Chartock is stepping down. The radio station announced his retirement Thursday morning.

Chartock, 81, took over as president and CEO at WAMC in 1981.

In a statement, Chartock said it’s time to turn things over to a new crop of leaders.

“This has been the journey of a lifetime and I have loved every minute, every challenge and every opportunity for growth this work has afforded me,” he said.

In addition to running the station behind the scenes, Chartock was a fixture on the air. He contributed commentary during WAMC’s morning news program “Morning Edition” and was a regular panelist on “The Roundtable,” discussing current affairs in the news. He interviewed dozens of lawmakers through the years on “The Congressional Corner” and discussed how the news of the day was being covered on “The Media Project.”

“While we are incredibly sorry to see him leave the leadership of WAMC, he has more than earned the right to step down and relax a bit,” said Dorothy H. Reynolds, chair of the WAMC Board of Trustees.

Stacey Rosenberry, WAMC’s director of operations and engineering, will be the organization’s interim CEO.

In addition to his work at WAMC, Chartock was a political science professor at SUNY New Paltz and launched the Legislative Gazette newspaper. He also served as WNYT’s political commentator in the 1990s and hosted a show called “See, Hear” on NewsChannel 13.

Chartock’s retirement is effective immediately.