We are thrilled to highlight one of five distinguished alumni who were inducted into the Vanderbilt Student Media Hall of Fame in 2023. The Hall of Fame honors alumni who have achieved outstanding personal or professional accomplishments or made distinguished and lasting contributions to their field or to society in general.
Stacy Goldate majored in Human & Organizational Development, and on WRVU she ran a weekly newsmagazine program and served as a music DJ. Goldate also was a guest columnist for The Hustler.
“Sometimes when I had insomnia, I’d ride my bike over to WRVU in the middle of the night if there wasn’t already someone on the air and I would turn on the transmitter and play whatever music I felt like hearing,” she said.
“I might get a call at the station from other kindred insomniac spirits who just happened to turn on their radio right when I started my set. My favorite comment was by a 2 a.m. listener when I played Gorecki’s Symphony No. 3. The anonymous caller simply said, ‘Thank You.’”
Goldate said it was “a tremendous luxury and privilege” to have access to the equipment and supportive faculty and staff when she was a student.
“There was no pressure to succeed, only the joy of experimenting with ways to tell stories,” she said. “I try to maintain that passion even now, 30 years later, and I still approach my documentary editing with the tools I learned in radio, such as prioritizing audio as I initially build the story.”
Today, Goldate is an award-winning editor, producer and director of documentaries and series. She has edited more than 50 non-fiction projects, including “Our Father” (Netflix), award-winning documentary “InHospitable,” acclaimed series for CNN (The Nineties, The 2000s, 1968), the Emmy-winning “Out of Iraq,” “Hillbilly” (Hulu), the GLAAD Media Award-winning and Peabody-nominated documentary “Disclosure” (Netflix), and award-winning Push Girls.
Goldate says she takes great pride in knowing that some of the films she has edited have had a real and positive impact on people’s lives.
“‘Disclosure’ is a groundbreaking film that has been used by cultural and educational institutions to facilitate dialogue, understanding, and compassion for Transgender and Nonbinary people,” she said.
“‘InHospitable’ was a key resource for the bipartisan Stop Anticompetitive Healthcare Act, and “Our Father” inspired the bipartisan introduction of H.R. 451, the Protecting Families from Fertility Fraud Act.
“And it’s not just cultural and legislative impact that I’m proud of, it’s knowing that I’ve helped create films and TV series that have simply given people joyful ways to unwind, like with CNN’s The Nineties: The One About TV. I still hear from people when they catch the re-run nearly six years after it originally aired.”
Goldate currently is editing a documentary series for Paramount+ and Funmeter about Lollapalooza and is committed to mentoring, serving as a Karen Schmeer Fellowship Mentor. She has remained connected to Vanderbilt, speaking on campus and serving as a mentor for the Vandy-in-Hollywood program.
