By Walter Gong
After minor delays, the newly renovated Brimhall Building is ready for Communications Department faculty and staff to move in.
Although department faculty have been moving books and office equipment into the Brimhall building since mid-November, difficulties in obtaining the building''s occupancy permit prevented them from officially moving into their new offices.
'Most of the professors have packed up their things,' said department secretary Lesley Turner. 'We''ve got people over there unpacking, trying to get their offices organized. We just occupy the building until we our permit.'
Department Chair Ed Adams said the most recent setback, which delayed the move from Nov. 22 to Dec. 1, was caused by a problem getting the fire alarms certified and was solved within a few days.
Now that the permit is in hand, faculty can officially occupy the new building, although some say they won''t move until next semester.
Faculty offices and other classrooms are on the second and third floors of the Brimhall building. NewsNet and a handful of classrooms will occupy the first floor and will be moved during the semester break.
The computer labs in the F wing of the Harris Fine Arts Center will be closed to students starting Dec. 9. Some will be moved to the Brimhall building immediately, others will be used to administer finals before the move.
Department business manager Layne Peterson said he is excited to be moving to the new building.
'The fact is that we''ve never had our department all together under one roof,' Peterson said.
It is also the first time the department, part of the College of Fine Arts and Communications, has been housed in its own building.
The department was previously located in the F wing of the HFAC with separate facilities for NewsNet on the fifth floor of the Wilkinson Center.
According to Peterson, department administrative assistant Bobetta Powell said 95 percent of Winter Semester communications classes will be in the Brimhall building and in the McKay and Joseph Smith buildings, which are 'just a small walkway away from the Brimhall building.'
Peterson said bringing classes and faculty together geographically will create a 'communications process from the beginning of the day to the end of the day.'
Critics of the move have complained that there is little vending and no convenient parking at the Brimhall building.
On the other hand, the new building has two 10-computer open access labs, a part-time faculty chase, classrooms fit with advanced audio-video equipment and space for NewsNet and the advanced advertising lab.