College of communication enters phase II of renovations, including Scripps Hall.
This semester, walking through Scripps Hall has been like stepping into a construction zone.
“It’s pretty shocking,” said Robert Stewart, director of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism.
The renovation is part of Phase II of the Scripps College of Communication’s project to bring each of its schools and departments under three roofs rather than the current seven, said Scott Titsworth, dean of the Scripps College of Communication.
“We’re sitting in Phase I; Phase I is done,” Stewart said from his office in Schoonover. “Phase II is the rest of Schoonover, plus RTV plus Scripps. So they couldn’t work on Scripps until we moved out.”
The new Scripps Hall, which should be complete by September 2015, will have a more contemporary feel than it does now, Stewart said. Classes are still being held there during the construction.
By next fall, all of the college’s schools and departments will be headquartered in Schoonover.
As part of the demolition before the renovation in Scripps, the walls and floors had to be stripped, and ceiling tiles had to be removed.
“Right now, they are doing the demolition of what they can do,” Stewart said. Classrooms — which are still in use this semester — cannot be demoed until next summer when students are away from campus.
“I see the change affecting the climate and culture,” Stewart said, noting that he thinks the worst of the demolition is over. “I think it’s bigger than any of us imagined.”
Student responses to how the construction has affected classes in Scripps is mixed.
“The construction has had some effect on the students’ ability to navigate throughout the building,” said Gary Bridgens, a senior studying journalism. “I do, however, believe that it’s an investment in the future of Ohio University academics and it is totally necessary.”
Some students didn’t know what to think when they initially walked into the construction zone.
“The first day that I (walked through Scripps), I was very confused because we didn’t really get an announcement about it,” said Diana Wiebe, a junior studying journalism and political science.
Administrators agree that the space isn’t up to OU’s normal standards.
“We’re so used to having our spaces look like they are completely finished,” Titsworth said. “When you see them in a state of demolition like they are right now, it just looks horrible, and we’re not used to that.”
Titsworth added there are no plans to move any classes from the building this year.
Kelly Bondra, a freshman studying Publication Design, does not mind the construction.
“I do not think it’s affecting my classes,” Bondra said. “It personally doesn’t bother me. I like the crack house vibe it gives off.”
The demolition and renovation also gives OU a chance to make repairs to Scripps Hall, Titsworth and Stewart said. A new roof for the building is part of the project.
The College of Communication will still use the building in varying capacities after the construction is complete.
The second floor of Scripps, tentatively being called the Center for Innovation, will house the Grid Lab, a virtual reality project run by the college, along with many classrooms and labs. OU’s Global Leadership Center will move there, along with offices for OU’s Speech and Debate team.
Lasher Learning Center — also on the second floor — will be converted to an instructional space for the School of Journalism. Students will be able to scrawl their work on the walls — and erase it later — once the walls are outfitted with dry-erase paint, Stewart said.
“There is still a lot of activity that we’re going to be programming inside Scripps Hall that’s directly related to what I think are some of the most exciting things that’s going on in the college right now,” Titsworth said.
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