The former home of the business school is being transformed into a place where foreign language students can talk face-to-face with people from other countries. In an attempt to change how foreign languages are taught at Ohio State, Hagerty Hall, the former College of Business building, will be rehabilitated at a price of $20 million.Max M. Fisher College of Business will complete its move from Hagerty Hall and into a $90.6 million multi-complex on Woodruff Avenue during the winter quarter in 1999. When the move is complete, foreign language and linguistics departments will occupy Hagerty Hall, said Linda Harlow, associate dean in the College of Humanities.”The focus of Hagerty Hall will be on technology,” she said.One of the most important new features Hagerty Hall will house when renovations are complete is the World Media and Culture Center. Through satellite technology, the center will grant users access to international news and broadcast. Teleconferencing and consulting suites for international and research projects will also be available.Included in the center will be a coffee bar “that will serve as a gathering place for faculty, students and members of the community who come together to practice their language conversational skills and increase their knowledge of global affairs,” Harlow said.The bulk of the $20 million will go towards actual renovations to the building to accomodate these new additions.”All heat ventilaton and air conditioning systems will be replaced and the interiors remodeled,” said Jill Morelli, assistant vice president and university architect. According to Harlow, the center will house a high-end hypermedia development facility, an individualized instruction/dislearning facility and electronic classrooms. The electronic classroom will be a combination of computer laboratories and multi-media classrooms that will allow students to access features like face-to-face converstions from other countries. Currently at OSU, each language department has a separate individualized instruction center. The new learning center will combine these programs into one. Another $10 million is currently being raised by the College of Humanities to finance these programs.According to Galal Walker, associate professor of Chinese, “The world of an educated American is far smaller and more complicated than it once was.”The renovations are scheduled to be complete in the year 2001.