Visitors to Ernie Pyle Hall this summer may have mistaken the building for a construction zone.

The school has undergone major aesthetic changes since Dean Brad Hamm took the reins in Fall 2005, as he tries to improve the building one step at a time. This summer, plans have come to fruition as walls are moved and adorned.

The main reason for the change is to stay modern, Hamm said, structurally, technologically and aesthetically.

"Bringing the building up-to-date helps everyone," he said. "If something is 30 years old or broken, and you look at it every day, that's not appealing."

While some of the changes have been small, like hanging pictures in the hallways, getting new furniture in the Ernie Pyle lounge and lockers in the graduate student lounge, other have been ground-breaking -- literally.

The restrooms in the first floor have been gutted and Room 157, otherwise known as "The Pit," may have to get a new nickname. By the start of classes this fall, the floor will be level with the adjacent visual communications lab.

The room will still serve as a classroom, housing a lectern and 20 high-end computers, said senior systems administrator Ryan Ridge. Lighting will come in the form of seven windows, which for years have been covered with bricks.

Aside from aesthetic improvements, the changes are also practical, Hamm said. Both Room 157 and the restrooms will meet the latest codes for handicap accessibility. Until now, they only met codes for when the building was constructed, a condition fully within the law.

Increasing the size of the women's restroom also reflects how the demographics of journalism students have changed over the years.

"There are more female students today, which was not the case when the building was built," Hamm said.

Another battle with modernity is to stay technologically up to date. Aside from "The Pit," a flat-screen panel will be installed in Ernie Pyle lounge for DVDs and presentations, Ridge said. In general, the whole building has been rewired to make the network up to 100 times faster.

"It's been a long time coming for a lot of these updates," Ridge said. "We need them to stay a high-functioning technological school."

The renovations this summer come on the heels of a new auditorium and offices just two years ago, Hector said.

"This is a large volume all at once," she said. "It was kind of a domino effect. Once we did one thing it was like, 'It would be nice if we could go a little bit further.'"

And the funds were there to keeping moving, thanks to a few endowments, according to Rogette Hector, director of financial, budgetary and technical services. The School of Journalism has footed the rest of the bill itself.

While the renovations cost money, in a way they are paying for themselves, Hector said. As students enroll in more credit hours, the School of Journalism receives more money from the campus.

Hector sees building improvements as a direct correlation to more students in classrooms. In the last year, the number of credit hours undertaken by undergraduate students has increased 5 to 10 percent, and a similar increase is expected for the coming year.

Part of that reason is simply more seats for students to fill. In fact, Hamm said getting students in their chosen classrooms is a major reason for renovations.

"The new 'Pit' allows us to open up classes so students are not put on a wait list," Hamm said. In its former state, that classroom was used very little, but that is about to change.

"This fall, we barely have any wait list for beginning computer classes," he said.

Student feedback has led to many of the recent changes. Nowhere is this more the case than the school's library.

The main library decided to officially close the satellite library, based on student feedback, Hector said. However, Hamm plans to keep it a resource center, with the hopes of it being a fully functioning area for students.

"We want to use space better," he said, "put things where people use them."

This means more resource materials, areas for group work, additional computers and a space devoted solely to career services.

"Students have asked for a lot more resources for careers, internships and resumes," Hamm said. The desk area previously used for checking out materials will have such resources catalogued in hard copy and stored on databases on three computers.

Many books will leave the library permanently, but in their place will be a gradual increase in periodicals and more information available online, which Hamm feels is a better alternative for students.

"The goal would be to stay current with the way students learn and the way they do research," Hamm said.

While the current renovations are expected to be finished by the start of the fall semester, those who work and study in Ernie Pyle Hall shouldn't be surprised to see more changes as the year progresses. As Hamm walked through the building, he pointed out dozens of spaces to lighten the paint and open up spaces.

"It's all little things that will make the building look more modern," he said.