Major building renovations within Ohio State’s School of Communication have recently been completed, wrapping up a series of projects that have been in progress over the past four years.

The renovations were needed to integrate technology with teaching and research, said Melanie Yutzy, administrative manager for the School of Communication.

“We are updating technologies needed to practice journalism and do research,” said Carroll Glynn, director of the School of Communication.

The most recent renovations cost approximately $1.47 million, which included building and technology updates for the Journalism Building and Derby Hall, Yutzy said.

The updates include a new building lobby in the Journalism Building, renovations in The Lantern newsroom, a lecture theater and additional sophisticated research space. The labs will be used to research communication methods, audience response, gaming and communication and psychophysiology. Televisions in the newly renovated lobby will showcase research and Lantern work.

The renovated rooms provide faculty, scholars, undergraduate and graduate students space to collaborate on research projects, Glynn said.

In the past, the building had housed research space. However, space was a problem, said Joseph Szymczak, systems manager for the School of Communication.

The new space provides “the flexibility to use the [research] equipment more efficiently,” Szymczak said.
In one of the new research spaces, the gaming lab, students will be able to study communication messages displayed by individuals who are playing videogames. Researchers will be able to capture both facial responses and the stimulus causing them, Szymczak said.

Researchers “have enhanced capabilities now,” Yutzy said.
The renovated spaces will be more functional than they have been in the past and will have many uses, Glynn said.

“Now we are making full use of the facilities,” Glynn said. “Students can take classes in the rooms as well. The key to this is collaborative space.”

The changes in the building reflect the move toward “more of a multimedia focus” for the school, which tie in with new curriculum, Yutzy said.