Ariel Tung | April 8, 2009
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| One of the architectural drawings of proposals for future space on campus shows Woodlawn Avenue looking south. The current Ernie Pyle Hall may become an extension of the Indiana Memorial Union. |
In February, an architectural company SmithGroup/JJR of Washington, D.C., presented to the Board of Trustees plans that address future space and facilities on campus. One of the proposals is to use Ernie Pyle Hall as an extension of the Indiana Memorial Union and relocating the School of Journalism.
School of Journalism’s Dean Brad Hamm sees this as an opportunity for the school to solve a problem it’s had for at least 15 years: room to keep growing.
“There isn’t enough space to accommodate programs and meet the needs of students, especially graduate students,” Hamm said. “We need twice the amount of space we currently have. “
Ernie Pyle Hall’s location makes it hard to expand the building. It is not possible to add more floors to the current building structure. Hamm said a potential location for the new building would be along the stretch of Woodlawn Avenue currently occupied by university-owned houses and structures.
“The spaces were purchased by the university with the plan that when the university grows, we can build on those spaces,” Hamm explained. “It can be the tennis courts, parking lots or rental homes that have to go.”
Lack of space already has affected Ernie Pyle Hall. Originally a storage building, it was adapted for classroom use when the Department of Journalism moved into it in 1954. Major renovations in the early1970s and refurbishments in the 1990s helped accommodate a growing program. But the school eliminated its television studio and research center in the 1990s and today does not have room for student club offices, multimedia editing or even a hall of fame, which many journalism schools host, Hamm said.
The dean said a new Ernie Pyle Hall would be 75,000 square feet, twice the size of the current building, providing space for all of those activities as well as larger office space for faculty, staff, student clubs, the career and internship center, and the High School Journalism Institute.
A new building could accommodate more students, too, especially those pursuing master’s degrees.
“The space problem affects graduate students more because they generally require smaller spaces for classes, spaces outside classes to meet and to work on group projects, and spaces to store their equipments and materials,” Hamm said. “As graduate students tend to live off-campus, the school becomes like their home.”
To prepare all its students, the school must keep up with changes in the industry.
“The new building will give us more space for multi-media and media convergence,” Hamm said. “We would like to have more organized areas to focus on specialized programs such as our international programs and overseas trips.”
It will cost $25 million to build the new Ernie Pyle Hall, including the purchase of new computers and equipment. Funds for a new building may come from different sources, including foundations, alumni, supporters of the school and the university.
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| IU Archives |
| Formerly a supply building, Ernie Pyle Hall was given its current name when IU moved the journalism department to the building in 1954. Here, workmen move Pyle’s desk into the remodeled space. |
“We don’t have a timetable yet for a new building but we do recognize that it takes years to plan, design and build a new school,” he said.
He said he relies on the school’s many loyal alumni and friends who support its mission and its students.
“The journalism school has spent the equivalent of a lifetime in one building and now it is time to move forward and ensure the future for many new generations of students,” he said.
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