The State Budget Committee gave final approval Friday to the construction of a $21 million Communication Media Building at Ball State.
The proposal that was given the go-ahead at a monthly meeting at Indiana University was requested in February when Ball State set up its two-year budget.
Originally the proposal, which will be paid for with bonds, was not included in the state's budget, said State Rep. Tiny Adams (D-Muncie), chairman of the Higher Education Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee.
"Myself and Senator Allie Craycraft fought very hard to get it into the budget," Adams said. "I visit campus a lot and I just felt it was the thing to do."
Telecommunication students also made a DVD presenting the need for the new building to the legislature, Nancy Carlson, chairperson of the department of telecommunications said.
The video included interviews mentioning a lack of space in the current buildings and the need to have the CCIM college together.
The new Communication Media Building will be built between the Ball Communications Building and the Robert Bell Building.
All three buildings will be connected, continuing a connection that begins at the Art and Journalism building, which is attached to the Ball Communication Building.
This will bring all of the departments of the College of Communication, Information and Media under one roof.
The three-story building will offer more classroom space, lab space, and faculty offices, Tom Morrison, director of state fiscal relations said.
Some telecommunication professors and graduate assistants do not have offices, and some classes have to be taught in other buildings on campus because there is not enough space, Carlson said.
Ball State's CCIM is growing and the new building provide more space for students to test new digital equipment and technology, including more space for the iCommunication initiative.
The college has doubled its enrollment in the past few years, Morrison said. Among high school juniors and seniors, communication-related majors are the number one choice.
Ball State's CCIM is ranked the seventh-largest communications college in the country.
"If we're going to go into the next century and stay on top, we need the highest technology that we can get," Adams said.
The new building will provide more space for the Department of Telecommunications, Media Design Initiative, Communication Studies, and the Center for Information and Communication Sciences.
With the expansion, Carlson said the college of CCIM would be able to hold more night classes and schedule more studio times.
Construction is aimed to begin in mid to late spring and be completed in 2006.
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