While work on the new School of Communication building has yet to begin, many current SOC facilities have been upgraded, including the addition of a high-definition TV studio.
Several thousand dollars have been invested in a high-quality, high-definition television production facility, according to Larry Kirkman, dean of SOC.
Earlier this year, HD cameras were installed in the Media Production Center’s television studio. SOC also negotiated with Sony to purchase an HD switcher that was used for 20 days at the Vancouver Olympics. Since the switcher was used, SOC was able to purchase it at a lower price, according to Jeffrey Madison, media services manager for SOC.
The converter SOC purchased will allow students to enhance their video and create effects that will make their broadcasts look more like network news, according to Madison.
Most universities do not have an HD TV studio. AU does not have an SOC building yet, but it does have unique, state-of-the-art resources, Kirkman said.
“We’ve invested in the production labs, the technology, the resources for students to do work at a high level, and we aren’t waiting for the building to do that,” Kirkman said.
Still, a new building will help validate and reflect the growing success of SOC programs at AU, he said.
“The new building will give us an identity, and we deserve that identity; we’ve earned it,” Kirkman said. “I think it will fulfill the success that we’ve had in the last 10 years in positioning ourselves as one of the leading communications schools in the country.”
However, a home for SOC is still several years away. Current plans are to renovate the McKinley building and move SOC there.
The next step toward renovations is drafting blueprints, which takes a full year, Kirkman said. Then the actual renovation project will take about two years.
Before the renovations can begin, the current occupants of the McKinley building must be relocated, according to Jorge Abud, the assistant vice president of Facilities and Administrative Services. These include the audio technology and physics departments, part of the Career Center and some School of International Service and College of Arts and Sciences offices.
While the SOC building is at least three years away, Abud said an improved facility for SOC is the university’s top facilities priority. It is also a fundraising priority.
The plan for expansion already received approval by the Zoning Commission.
“Plan-wise, it’s a done deal. When we’re going to get it done, I don’t know. Personally, I think that it becomes a function of how much debt the university can carry without hurting our bond rating and not being unhealthy,” Douglass said.
Plans to renovate McKinley for SOC began as far back as 2001 when Kirkman was appointed dean, he said. In 2002, he developed the Dean’s Advisory Council, made up of 25 leaders from SOC’s three program areas — journalism, public communication and film and media arts. The Council created a fundraising campaign to finance the renovation.
Through major gift and alumni donations, the Council raised approximately $500,000 in 2005. But this has changed in the current state of the economy.
“I think finding people willing to make major donations at this time continues to be difficult,” Douglass said. “But money does still keep coming in.”
As plans for the new SOC building developed, some began discussing the possibility of SOC moving into the NBC 4 building on Nebraska Avenue. Kirkman said while SOC does have a partnership with NBC 4, the possibility of SOC moving into NBC 4 is not a current goal.
The plan was put aside as NBC lost interest, Abud said. It also may be due to NBC’s sale to Comcast, but it is unclear, according to Kirkman.
While the SOC building project experienced several delays, other construction projects on campus have moved forward, like the new SIS building. The various construction projects on campus do not conflict with each other, according to Abud.
“They each have their own funding plan, and I think the potential donors are different for each project,” he said.
You can reach this writer at news@theeagleonline.com.
