Elon University plans to significantly renovate and add on to the McEwen School of Communications building in an effort to meet the needs of the 1,054 communications majors in the growing school. The new design will consolidate campus media organizat

ions such as ESTV, Live Oak Communications and WSOE into a central location. Though the decision to expand has been affirmed by members of Elon’s senior staff, Paul Parsons, dean of the School of Communications, said it requires fundraising to proceed.

“There is not a timetable,” Parsons said. “It relies on the securing of private gifts. You have to raise millions and millions to do this.”

The process has been lengthy, Parsons said. Students and faculty members have discussed expanding McEwen in the past, but plans were not in development until the last two years.

[quote]“A priority has been made by the university not to touch the area under the oaks. We really want to protect that.” -Dean Parsons[/quote]

Two options were on the table: to expand the school at its current location, or to build a new school elsewhere, in what is now the parking lot between McMichael and Koury Business Center. The senior staff, with input from the board of trustees, decided to expand McEwen at its current location in order to proceed quickly, economically and efficiently.

Parsons said there were practical reasons for keeping the old facility.

“Our plan is to work with an architect to expand this location. We don’t really want to evacuate,” he said. “It would be hard to relocate the TV studios.”

In an effort to minimize academic interruptions from construction, the university plans to work as much as possible during the summer, according to Parsons. Construction is projected to take 12-14 months for completion.

“The goal is to figure out some plan that, during the school year, we can continue being there,” he said. “But it is going to take an academic year at some point.”

The current McEwen building will remain, but the School of Communications will expand. A new two-story building will be constructed beside the current building, replacing the parking lot. The new facility will house classrooms, faculty offices and student media organizations. A large glass lobby will connect McEwen and the new building. Though the facility will be spread out over 50,000 net sq. feet, it will not impede on the grassy area under Elon’s oak trees, where events like Convocation and Commencement take place.

“A priority has been made by the university not to touch the area under the oaks,” Parsons said. “We really want to protect that.”

Though the design plans are set, they leave room for flexibility. Parsons said the logistics of who will occupy the new space have yet to be determined.

“Now we need to figure out what we need, where we need it and the best way to accomplish that,” he said.

Some said the changes to McEwen were long overdue. Sophomore communications major Aarti Rishi expressed frustration at the current state of McEwen.

“It’s too hard to get classes, because there are not enough seats in the class,” she said. “They either need to expand the school or add more sections. I’m glad something is being done about it.”