The School of Journalism and Communication (SJC) is expecting their remodel to begin May 1. The remodel will consist of a new production studio, new classrooms and a student lounge. The project has a budget of $350,000 to $400,000 with a remodel of more than 4,000 square feet.
“Our primary goal has been to create more general use classrooms,” said Marty Hamilton, Associate VP Financial Administration. “Clearly, this will benefit SJC with an updated speech classroom as well as a new photography studio. The other classrooms will be a valuable addition for Brock. This has been the primary focus of administration wanting to see this renovation occur.”
The renovation of the SJC has been a project that administration has been planning since the spring of 2017, but has also been a project that some students have been expecting. Jose Rios, senior intercultural communications major, said, “I think the remodel of the SJC has been long overdue.”
In the remodel, faculty and students can expect to have a student lounge. If you walk into the first floor of Brock, you will find a handful of students always hanging out in the SJC office between classes.
“The student lounge will be a great asset to the department. Currently, students congregate in the office, and at times it can be a disturbance to the professors working in their offices,” said Michaela Lewin, sophomore public relations major.
Hamilton notes that each year, administration chooses a couple of projects to work on to enhance student experience. Prior to the new plans, the SJC remodel had to be postponed because of the new Physical Therapy Assistant (PTA) facility that is currently under construction at Fleming Plaza and is planned to be finished May 1. The PTA facility was one of the requirements for the university to get the accreditation for the program.