WVHC was established in 1973 under the name of WHCR as a public address system, only providing a signal to the Robert McLaughlin College Center building. In 1986, WHCR began simulcasting on the college's television station HCTV, a Public-access televisioncable TV channel airing on Group W Cable (now Time Warner Cable), the authorized cable provider for Herkimer County. The station applied for a FCC license in the early 1990s. Since the WHCR call letters were already taken by WHCR-FM in New York City, the station applied for the call letters WVHC. The application was granted in February 1993, and WVHC began operations that October.[2]
Initially, programming was presented during class hours (7am-10pm), but in 1999 WVHC began full-time 24-hour operations. The station is best known for its jazz programming, the only station broadcasting such programming in the Mohawk Valley. It also airs a mix of student-produced programs, athletic events, and other campus events. Student-produced programs are usually heard in the early afternoon, with further programs broadcast on Fridays. The station also broadcasts Jazz at Lincoln Center, a radio program produced by the namesake venue and heard Saturday mornings at 10am.