A new $18 million center has the latest state-of-the-art tools for university students.
By Cortney Litwin/Staff Writer
High-technology has come to Pepperdine with the university’s brand new Center for Communication and Business, designed to impress even the most cyber-happy of students.
From videoconferencing to digital editing, the three-floor, 17-classroom facility will serve more than 1,200 undergraduates, who began classes Monday.
So what was the first day of classes like amid the miracles of the modern age?
“The reactions of the students are astonishment,” said Keith Whitney, chair of the Business Administration Division. He said the leading-edge technology “makes the classroom more exciting and more involving.”
Milt Shatzer, chair of the Communication Division, added, “We are trying to be current with the industry standard,” making it easier for students to go out and work in their fields.
“One nice thing-it’s set up for wireless connection,” Shatzer said with enthusiasm. “Students can access the Internet from anyplace in the building as long as they have a wireless Internet card. They can read their e-mail or do some research.”
Shatzer also mentioned the ELMO document cameras, which he calls “the overhead projector for the 21st century” that can project three-dimensional images at all angles without the use of a transparency sheet.
Other features in every classroom include computers, a LCD projector, and DVD and VCR players. The center also has roof-mounted satellite dishes that provide videoconferencing and crystal-clear transmission and reception. And the radio and television studios are also state-of-the-art.
The center, which is located on the Malibu campus, took two years to build at a cost in the $18 million range.
“The university never asked us to trim the budget for the building,” Whitney said, expressing his gratitude. “We maintained the course of building a leading-edge facility.”
Along with the classrooms, the center houses 62 offices, a boardroom and a seminar room.
Shatzer was thrilled “just to be in a permanent facility,” he said. “We were in temporary facilities for about 17 years. Now we don’t have to worry about a sound blip from next door when students are taking tests.”
Technology, however, hasn’t taken the place of comfort.
“What has impressed the students is the totally ergonomic chairs,” Whitney said with a laugh. And with two student lounges at the center that include a coffee shop and a snack bar, students can cozy up for some socializing between classes.
To make the center’s opening official, a formal dedication is being planned for October that will include guest speakers and building tours.