Tim Gleason, Dean of the School of Journalism and Communication (SOJC), spoke at an hour-long forum hosted by the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) Wednesday night where he fielded a range of questions from students regarding the status of renovations in Allen Hall.
The $15 million project began late last spring and is expected to be completed winter term 2013. It is being funded by a $7.5 million state bond and another $7.5 million of privately raised SOJC funds.@@http://sustainability.uoregon.edu/office-sustainability/news/increase-budget-allen-hall-renovation-help-campus-conservation-efforts@@ The new plans include an expansion of 14,000 square feet of new space which will feature a new building with an atrium that will tie the whole complex together.@@http://special.registerguard.com/turin/2011/jul/12/with-space-tight-on-campus-priority-must-go-to-students/@@
“We want it to be a core space that will allow you to get around the building with ease,” Gleason said.
New entrances on each side of the complex will also be added in addition to the new centralized atrium. The student services area will be remain on the first floor but will be relocated and expanded to better suit the increasing number of students. He says two new custom-fit lecture halls with “every bell and whistle we can put in it” will also be added to the main level.
The second floor will feature smaller classrooms and office space for faculty and graduate programs. The general layout will stay mostly the same though everything has been gutted and restored.
The third (the top) floor will feature faculty office space, conference rooms, smaller informal meeting areas, and an all-new 24-hour digital commons. The digital commons will offer work spaces and computer access for multimedia and other projects.
“It is going to be a flexible space that is much more open and collaborative,” Gleason said.”There wasn’t really a space for students to work around the clock and we really wanted to make a space for that.”
The whole complex has been designed in the same vision that Gleason describes the new digital commons, open and collaborative. Along with giving the two old buildings a face lift, $2 million is being spent on bringing them up to seismic code, making them earthquake safe.
After summing up the renovation project, Gleason turned to alterations in curriculum. He summarized reasons for switching the pre-major requirements and also reasons for adopting the Journalism school’s Gateway series instead of information-gathering.
“We needed to move to something that was more hands-on and collaborative,” Gleason said, “Our goal in new courses was to incorporate information-gathering into Gateway.”
Gleason stated how the current job environment played part in creating a new program where students gain a broad skill set that will help them in a professional setting. He feels that the new program is advantageous for students and will help them when they leave the University.
“For me, I thought it (SOJC gateway series) was hugely beneficial and helped prepare me for upper-division courses, yet you go through material so quick you don’t get as in-depth in some areas as you would like,” PRSSA member Grace Fox said.
Gleason also spoke on different programs being initiated at the University’s Portland-based Turnbull Center.@@http://journalism.uoregon.edu/turnbull/@@ A new masters program and internship positions at larger Portland businesses are just a couple of the new opportunities available.
“Students need to be in the loop with what is going on, so we’re glad we could have Dean Gleason come speak to us,” PRSSA President Austin Clark said.