by Jeremy Hunt
Daily Lobo
It has been a long wait for the renovation of the Communication and Journalism Building, but the chairman of the department said it will be worth it when it's done around mid-May.
"What we'll have in a month and a half is going to be incredible," John Oetzel said. "That doesn't stop the frustration, though."
The building will have more than double the amount of classroom space, wireless Internet, a computer lab, four classrooms for public speaking and lounge space for undergraduate students.
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The renovation cost $5.8
million.
The department has been without a building since the end of last spring semester.
Faculty and staff packed up course material they thought wouldn't be needed during the
renovation, and it has been in storage since renovation began.
Renovation was scheduled for completion around March 21, but problems with the building's heating, ventilation and air conditioning postponed the opening,
Oetzel said.
He said the University also requested aesthetic changes that delayed construction, including a trellis and an engraved brick
walkway.
Lynn Meiers, superintendent of the project, said the renovation is mostly complete.
Building inspections and certifications will start Monday, and the department should start moving into the building in about two or three weeks, Meiers said.
"It's gone very well," he said. "The design team has been an exceptionally good group to
work with."
The department has an office in the Women's Studies Department, but faculty had to accommodate students in nontraditional ways.
"It's been very disruptive to the students," said Dirk Gibson, a professor in the department. "Students like schedules and systems."
Gibson said he has had meetings with students in places like Starbucks, Satellite Coffee and the ground floor of Dane Smith Hall.
Graduate students have had a particularly hard time, especially those who began teaching and taking classes in the fall, Gibson said.
"In a lot of ways, there's no sense of community," he said.
Gibson said he's looking forward to having a desk and a filing
cabinet again.
Oetzel said that although it's been a tough transition, faculty and staff have something to look forward to.
"It's harder to do your job this way, but the expectation of the completed project is kind of keeping us going," he said.
