Students cheered, celebrities sang and alumni snapped selfies outside the Horseshoe Wednesday to celebrate the dedication of the new School of Journalism and Mass Communications building.
Darius Rucker and Mark Bryan, journalism school alumni and original members of the USC-borne Hootie and the Blowfish, performed a short concert after the official dedication ceremony.
USC President Harris Pastides, College of Information and Communications Dean Charles Bierbauer and School of Journalism and Mass Communication Interim Director Andrea Tanner spoke at the ceremony.
“It truly is as good as it looks, but what matters is what goes on inside,” Pastides said.
The new building is a significant improvement on the journalism school’s previous home in the Carolina Coliseum, which the school occupied for nearly 50 years. Tanner expressed her enthusiasm about the new facilities available to students and faculty.
“Two words come to mind: excitement and opportunity,” she said. “If we can accomplish so much in our windowless tomb at the Coliseum, imagine what we can do here.”
The revamping of the journalism facility has been a long time coming. After six of his predecessors attempted to have the college relocated, Bierbauer succeeded.
“Many said ‘I’ll believe it when I see it.’ See?” Bierbauer said.
Fourth-year broadcast journalism student Caroline Cann spoke about the new technology and attitude toward media.
Courtesy of SGTV
“Every day we are pushed to be on the cutting edge of our craft,” Cann said of all the different departments within the journalism school, from broadcast to public relations. “I have a better newsroom and studio than I may ever work in again,” Cann said.
In addition to looking forward, Tanner also spoke about the journalism school’s accomplishments. Just last month, professors from the journalism school were honored with many awards, including Distinguished Professor, Promising Professor and Outstanding Service.
The ceremony was concluded with the official dedication of the new building. Pastides, Bierbauer and Tanner asked the audience to take selfies as a banner bearing the motto: “The new home of new media” was revealed. The photos shared on Twitter and Instagram with the hashtag #USCJSchool will be digitally displayed in the building as a memento of the dedication.
The excitement continued with a short performance by Rucker and Bryan. Both expressed their enthusiasm about the new school and gratitude at the opportunity to play on the Horseshoe.
Mary Ramsey contributed to reporting on this article.