After decades of separation, the on-air studio for 91.1FM The Globe, WGCS; Globe TV; and The Record will be reunited in a new communication center. The programs will be housed in the west wing of the Newcomer Center on the south end of Goshen College’s campus.
Renovations are due to begin in the winter of this year and the center is set to open in August of 2020.The move will provide a central hub for communication students who are currently spread out around the Goshen College campus as they work within their co-curriculars.
WGCS has been broadcasting from the Union building since the station first went on air in 1958, Globe TV is currently located in the basement of the Good Library, The Record staff meet at the Hub (located between Kulp and the Westlawn Dining Hall), and the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) currently has no set meeting location.
The layout of the new center will house the radio and television stations next door to one another, with The Record’s newsroom down the hall. The center will also include offices for student leaders and PRSSA, along with a lounge and meeting room.
Kadie Spoor, a junior and the program director of Globe Radio and TV, spoke of her enthusiasm for the new center.
“It’s exciting that my last year will be in a whole new building with both the TV and radio studios being so close together,” she said. “Sometimes in the Newcomer lab, it’s hard to get in the right headspace to edit videos and audio. With a new space designated for Globe Media, I’m already eager to reach a new level of productivity.”
The building plans for the center were first announced in August by President Rebecca Stoltzfus at an all-employee retreat. Stoltzfus explained how finding a home for the communication department’s media enterprises was a priority shortly after her inauguration in February 2018.
One of the first people to see the plans of the new center was Kyle Hufford, associate professor of communication and general manager of FiveCore Media Productions.
“Collaboration is one of the most important skills we teach our students how to do,” Hufford said. “This new space will give us a place where this can happen organically and more effectively. It will be the home that our department has dreamed about for a long time. I cannot wait to have this space available for students next year.”
The project will cost $1.18 million and has been made possible due to several donors. According to Todd Yoder, the vice president for institutional advancement, fundraising is not over yet, but is continuing for equipment, furnishings and an endowment benefiting the department.
Ann Vendrely, the academic dean, convened a project steering committee that meets biweekly and includes Glenn Gilbert, the director of facilities; Paul Housholder, the associate director of ITS; Deanna Risser, vice president for finance; Duane Stoltzfus, professor of communication and chair of the communication department; and Todd Yoder. DJ Construction, based in Goshen, has been selected as the general contractor.
The west wing of the Newcomer Center is currently vacant after formally housing Mennonite Church USA archives from 1959 until just two years ago. In 2017, the church moved the archives to the Mennonite Church USA offices in Elkhart. Mennonite Historical Library and Goshen College archive materials were also stored in Newcomer until recently. The archives were moved to another campus location, ready for the renovation of the new center.
Anyone interested in donating or learning more about the project can contact the Advancement Office at (574) 535-7564 or alum@goshen.edu.
