As the new school year begins, both cinema and media arts and journalism students are finding that many changes have taken place over the summer at the Production Center, thanks to a $1 million dollar anonymous donation.

The construction crew, led by Ken Bascom and Jody Spicer, created the sleek new Production Center, now ready for student use.

One of the most obvious changes is the exterior of the building. The construction fences and equipment of last spring are gone and a new modern entrance, complete with those nifty proximity card readers, has been completed. The new, windowed entryway opens up the space and lets natural light in the formerly dim building.

“It’s an eye-catching bit of architecture on the south end of campus and a tribute to the university’s vision for taking what used to be a dreary-looking building and turning it into a showplace,” said Dr. Michael Longinow, journalism department chair.

Inside the building, a new coat of paint and carpeting gives the space a cozy yet professional feel.

Some of the new inside features that the center has to offer include a convergent newsroom, a conference room, bathrooms, a graphic production room, a graphic production office, a new studio, and a new equipment room where students can check out cameras and equipment for their projects.

One thing that is sure to be a hit with students is that the building now contains its own bathrooms.

“I love the new design,” said senior Michal Shipman, a cinema and media arts student. “It’s much more cozier and feels very professional. I’m just glad that we finally have bathrooms. Last year students were working on projects in a half completed building, sidestepping exposed wiring and competing for space.”

In addition to the construction, there is a slew of new electronic equipment including cameras, headphones, cables, and software updates to equip students in their media-related endeavors.

“The new facilities and gear will take the journalism and cinema and media arts programs to a whole new level of professionalism,” said Mark Spicer, production center manager. Some equipment is still being purchased and installed to complete spaces like the convergent newsroom to make the Production Center fully functional. Longinow said that it will still take some time to completely furnish the newsroom because funds are still being raised for the new collection of equipment.

“The university has promised to make that space a lab for cutting-edge multimedia storytelling for web news and features,” Longinow said. “That’s something very few Christian universities are taking time and money to pursue.”

Longinow was excited about what the future holds for journalism and cinema and media arts students, and the new possibilities that will be open to them through the new space and equipment.

“What also excites me about this building is that it’s shared space,” Longinow said. “The future of all media is convergence. And journalism students will be mixing with each other in this building as well as trading ideas and the stories of ‘how I did it’ with film students. Ultimately, we’re all in this together, and I believe students can learn a lot from each other when they cooperate to be creative.”