@Elon


Our new In the Spotlight feature sheds light on different departments or events on campus. This month, we take a look at the new School of Communications and its unique decor.
Brad Hamm, acting dean of the School of Communications, wanted the decor of the school's new home in McEwen to be more than unique. He wanted it to be inspirational. "I wanted the building to say 'communications' on its walls," he says. "Everything we put up should send some sort of academic or inspirational message." So with input from faculty, he set out to send that message -- with old newspapers, among other things. Hamm found Web sites offering original copies of rare newspapers, most in the $10 to $40 range. Some of newspapers are displayed in the main hallway of the first floor. The headlines vary: "FOE SIGNS; WAR STOPS," "KENNEDY SLAIN ON DALLAS STREET" and "MEMPHIS LEADS WORLD IN MOURNING FOR ELVIS PRESLEY." The left side of the hall is historical, the right is new, Hamm says. A high-tech TV monitor hangs on the wall at the building's entrance, allowing students to listen to today's headlines as they read the historical ones. But that's not all the media history that students see in the first-floor hallway. Four displays are reserved to honor Elon alumni. Current displays include photos, videos and other mementos from the careers of film director Martin Ritt, producer Kenneth Utt and White House correspondent Marjorie Hunter of The New York Times. A fourth display will honor journalist Jo Craven, a member of the Washington Post team that won the Pulitzer Prize for public service.
The displays are a work in progress, and Hamm plans to keep acquiring materials from these and other Elon alumni. He has collected several original movie posters from productions by Ritt and Utt, and these are displayed throughout the building. Some oversized posters even hang in the stairwells. "One of the goals of the Elon Vision is to reflect Elon's history," Hamm says. "We're celebrating Elon's media achievements." At the end of the hall, there is an internship wall that contains pictures of Elon students in locations all over the world, such as CBS London, the Discovery Channel, MTV and many more. "The internship program is phenomenal," Hamm says, noting that Elon has interns at all major networks and more interns at MTV than any school in the nation. "I want people to walk down the hall and see themselves," he says. "Everything in the building should say something about us." Hamm is planning a large display of the First Amendment on a wall at the front entrance of the building, and there are more walls to be decorated with messages that teach and inspire. He says that the improved facilities in McEwen give students the space they need. "Space does allow bright people to do good things," Hamm says. "Bright people could work in a closet, but giving them space to excel is important."

Decking the Halls

Movie posters in McEwen display the work of Elon graduates such as Kenneth Utt, a producer who worked on films such as "Midnight Cowboy" (top left) and "Silence of the Lambs" (right).


Elon University Campus Box Elon, NC 27244 E-mail: web@elon.edu	Last Modified: 10/28/09 Copyright © Elon University