By Tony Pennington
The Norman Transcript

Thirteen shovels were isolated and anchored in the saturated, soupy soil Tuesday just north of Gaylord Hall.

The gentle afternoon showers forced the planned groundbreaking ceremony into the home of the University of Oklahoma's Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communications, but couldn't diminish the importance of the gathering.

"What an important occasion this is," OU President David L. Boren said while addressing the crowd of about 200 packed into the atrium of Gaylord Hall. "We will now have the facilities that will be the best in the United States for our students to practice their profession and trade."

The building Boren spoke of is the $19 million, three-story project that will add 44,000 square feet to the existing 61,000-square-foot Gaylord Hall. The original facility was completed in 2004 and features a mix of contemporary and traditional architectural design that will be matched by the expansion.

Once completed, the journalism and mass communications school will have the ability to reach a variety of students through multidisciplinary classrooms and laboratories dedicated to writing and graphics. The plans also call for a conference center for national and regional events; a 180-seat, theater-style classroom; a two-story sound stage; and a graduate studies center for the college's new doctoral degree program and professional master's program. Classes are expected to begin in the new facility during the spring semester of 2009.

Boren described the college of journalism and mass communication as moving at a rapid pace that was fueled by the infusion of resources. The college has experienced a 500 percent growth in students since 1995.

"None of it would have happened without the generosity of others," he said.
There has been one family working hard to create the opportunities for students and elevating OU's program. After all, it's their name on the building.

Edith Kinney Gaylord's foundations, Ethics and Excellence in Journalism and the Inasmuch Foundation, recently made a $9 million gift for the addition. The E.L. and Thelma Gaylord Foundation also contributed $2 million which added to the organization's original $22 million commitment to the journalism and mass communications college. In total, the Gaylord family has given $33 million to OU over the years.

Foundation president and CEO Robert Ross represented Ethics and Excellence in Journalism and the Inasmuch Foundations at the event. He said Edith Gaylord valued the education offered at OU and never lost sight of student needs.

"The foundations were pleased to provide the $9 million to finish the project," Ross said. "We have a responsibility to preserve and make better the things that were important to Edith."

The vision of Edith's foundations and the E.L. and Thelma Gaylord Foundation isn't just mentioned at university events. It's shared by the administration, faculty and students. And together, OU advertising junior Robert Gonzalez, 21, said the college could provide more educational opportunities and enrich the student experience.

"With this new building," Gonzalez expressed, "the time has come for our college."