Thursday September 27, 2001

Move would not occur until Dec 2002; professors hopeful

Officials said yesterday preliminary negotiations are underway to move the UA journalism department to a new location.

The university is involved in negotiations with the Marshall Foundation, a nonprofit organization constructing a new building on the corner of North Park Avenue and East Second Street.

Though plans are not yet final, Johan Lahtinen, assistant director of space management at the University of Arizona, said the university hopes to rent non-commercial space in the new five-story building - scheduled to be completed in December 2002 - to the journalism department.

"That's what the plan is," said Lahtinen. "But right now, everything is in the planning stages."

Lahtinen said no leases have been signed yet.

Lease or not, professors in the journalism department said they are hopeful they may soon move out of the Franklin building, 1011 E. Fifth St.

The department has been housed in the basement of Franklin since the early 1980s.

"I hate this basement," said Bill Greer, an associate professor of journalism and member of the department for 22 years. "It's got no windows to look out of, (and) it's depressing."

Greer teaches photojournalism and editing for the department and is the adviser for the Tombstone Epitaph, a newspaper produced by UA journalism students. Greer said he hopes the deal goes through because he would be provided with a state-of-the-art visual communications room and a newspaper production lab.

Jacqueline Sharkey, acting journalism department head, said the new facility would have 11,000 square feet of space, while Franklin provides only 9,700 square feet.

"Our enrollment is growing by 10 percent a year," said Sharkey. "It is more space, but we need it."

Sharkey said the best thing about the possibility of being housed in the new building is the fact that it is unlikely to possess any of the biohazards that have haunted the Franklin building in the past.

In the last 10 months, the journalism department has tolerated several biohazards including sewage system malfunctions and an infestation of toxic mold that forced professors from their offices for three weeks in December.

Jim Patten, undergraduate journalism adviser and former department head, said he believes prospective students and their parents are misled by the journalism department's current accommodations. He said the basement's aged look gives the false impression that the UA journalism department is behind the times.

"Maybe the biggest problem the department has is being stuck in the basement of the Franklin building," said Patten. "These quarters have held us back."

Matt Petersen, a journalism senior, said he heard about the possibility of the department moving from other students in his classes. While Petersen plans to graduate before the prospective move would occur, he said he believes the journalism department's housing situation needs to be changed.

Petersen compared the accommodations for the journalism department at the UA to those of other schools.

"This building does kind of limit us," he said. "We don't have a great place with state of the art stuff like (University of) Missouri."

Journalism freshman Annie Kellogg said her editing class does not have an assigned classroom and instead meets in the Franklin basement's main lobby.

"It's distracting with people walking by all the time," she said. "If the atmosphere was better, I'm sure I could concentrate more."

While Petersen and Kellogg both said their decisions to be journalism majors were not ultimately affected by the department's accommodations, Petersen said, "the thought did kind of occur to me that all of my classes would be down in a basement."

Adam Miszuk, a journalism senior, said he liked the idea of having his classes in the Franklin basement. He said he enjoys the "old-school journalism" atmosphere of the building.

"I like the feel of the basement," Miszuk said. "There's a sense of history and tradition. A big part of the reason I decided to major in journalism was this building."

Sharkey said the media arts, Judaic studies, Near-Eastern studies, East Asian studies, and Mid-Eastern studies departments are all negotiating for space in the new building.