A ribbon cutting on Wednesday marked the official unveiling of the new and updated studio spaces in the basement of Hamilton Hall for students in the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication.
“These new spaces represent a transformative investment in our students and come at an exciting time as we launch a new major in digital storytelling, an interdisciplinary degree that prepares students to thrive in the creator economy and shape the future of media,” said Tracy Lucht, Greenlee School director and professor.
The content creation suites include a podcast studio, a one-button record studio, a multicamera studio with LED wall, control room and renovations to the existing audio spaces. The spaces will be used by all five school majors: journalism, advertising, public relations, sports media and communication, and digital storytelling.
“I could not be prouder of our team and the work that has gone into making Hamilton Hall a hub of creativity and innovation. I am grateful to our partners in Music and Theatre, the Office of the Senior Vice President and Provost, and the faculty and staff members who brought this vision to life,” Lucht said.
The Office of the Vice President and Provost provided $200,000 of nearly $1 million in building renovations for Hamilton Hall. The remainder came from donations to the Greenlee School via the Iowa State University Foundation.
From inception to completion, the planning has stretched over nearly three years. Plans initially started forming once the Office of the Vice President and Provost launched its “Degrees of the Future” initiative – a $1.5 million, three-year program funded by Iowa State’s 2022-2031 strategic plan, to spur innovation in the curriculum to meet student and workforce demands.
The digital storytelling degree was selected out of 22 faculty proposals in 2023 and is one of six degrees of the future.
“I’m beyond excited to be able to offer these spaces for our students,” said Sherry Berghefer, teaching professor. “Content creation is so much a part of our fields, and I feel it’s incredibly important to already have that hands-on experience walking into internships or jobs. Having the spaces right here in Hamilton makes it easy for them [students] to create, whether for class or a passion project.”
This fall, a new public affairs interview program — “Conversations from Greenlee” — will be produced from the multicamera studio.
Students from the school’s Broadcast Media Production course will handle every element of the show, from booking and researching guests and conducting interviews to directing and operating technical equipment. The show will air twice per week.
“Conversations from Greenlee” is the first regular series produced in the new multicamera studio, which gives students access to a professional multicamera control environment and the kind of production workflow they will encounter in newsrooms and studios after graduation.
“This is a significant investment by the school toward our video courses and programming ability,” said James McNab, assistant teaching professor and faculty advisor for the show. “Our students have access to a space and equipment that will set them up for future success in broadcast and production careers.”
To help launch the new studio space, McNab assembled a group of upper-class students with previous production experience to produce the pilot episode of the series.
The pilot, featuring Dr. Jason Keith, Iowa State senior vice president and provost, premiered on Wednesday, Sept. 16, on Greenlee School TV via YouTube.
Following the premiere, “Conversations from Greenlee” will air regular episodes on GSTV beginning Monday, Oct. 5. Each episode will feature in-depth interviews with newsmakers, policy experts, campus leaders and community figures, with an emphasis on issues affecting Iowans.
“I hope ‘Conversations with Greenlee’ shows our audience how creative students on campus are when given this kind of creative freedom,” said sophomore in advertising, Jack Instefjord, who will also serve as co-host on the show.
The existing news magazine show – “Studio 308” – and sports highlights show – “Prep Sports Central” – also will originate from the space.