Students in Ohio University’s Scripps College of Communication might not get the chance to enjoy the new Schoonover Center for Communication before they graduate because of recent delays.
Because Gov. John Kasich did not pass a capital bill this year, funds the university expected to receive did not materialize. That caused significant delays, pushing back the renovation timeline.
OU now expects the building will be usable starting in summer 2014, said Scott Titsworth, interim dean of the Scripps College.
The university originally estimated the center would be finished in January 2013, and officials said in May that the center’s completion would be delayed until at least fall 2013.
The cost of the center is estimated at $37 million to $40 million dollars, the majority of which was expected to come from the state. Now that it will not receive those funds, OU plans to borrow the money, said Bob Stewart, director of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism.
“The trustees are going to be asked … to approve, essentially, the university borrowing the money,” he said.
In addition, various donors have committed a total of $8.4 million to the Schoonover Center, said Heather Krugman, director of operations and strategic planning for Scripps.
Stewart said borrowing the money is not ideal but will have some advantages and will allow OU to continue working on the renovations without waiting on the capital bill.
Even without a promise of funding for the center, OU is still beginning the renovations.
“There’s actually people working in the old Baker Center right now — they’re doing an interior demolition,” Titsworth said.
They are in the process of removing non-structural materials such as drywall, molding and flooring. Recently, all the window air-conditioning units were removed from the building.
The interior demolition must be done before any more extensive renovations can occur, he said.
The Schoonover Center will combine the former Baker University Center and the Radio-Television Building to create a space capable of housing the college’s five schools.
Titsworth said the new center would allow students to receive training in multiple areas instead of specializing in one branch of communication.
It also creates opportunities for collaborative projects and seminars.
“You get faculty and students from different schools working on projects together because they’re able to figure out what each other is doing,” he said.
Stewart said the OU Board of Trustees would discuss and vote on the loan proposal at the next meeting, which will take place Nov. 18.
Tom Davis, the board’s secretary, said he has not yet received any information concerning the proposal.
He added that the materials for the November meeting’s agenda were not due until Nov. 3.
bv111010@ohiou.edu
