Live from J-School: Institute Construction

By Rachel Dennis

Pam Johnson Institute Executive Director

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Donald W. Reynolds Foundation Reynolds Journalism Institute

Columbia, Mo. (March 27, 2006) -- Keeping up with the construction of the new Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute is now as close as opening your computer's Web browser and pointing to http://journalism.missouri.edu/.

A new Webcam is providing real-time viewing of the work being done in the Missouri School of Journalism courtyard area. This includes complete renovation of the vacant Sociology Building, partial renovation to Walter Williams Hall and the construction of a new addition between these two buildings. The Institute's new facilities are expected to be finished in fall 2007.

"The promise that the Institute will provide to citizens, journalists and the academy becomes more real as our new home is built," said Pam Johnson, executive director. "The Webcam allows alumni and others to share our growth with us."

The new center will focus on advanced studies of journalism and its role in democratic societies. The Donald W. Reynolds Foundation awarded the Missouri School of Journalism $31 million for the creation of the Institute in February 2004.

The camera is mounted on the roof of Gannett Hall and provides an east view. For archival purposes, the camera will take a still shot every hour. A computer-animated sequence of these photographs will be developed for the Institute's grand opening activities. Student photographers are capturing other images of the construction.

Students will be able to wave to others from an area on the lower right-hand side of the Webcam image. They can call their families and friends on their cell phones and ask them to log on to journalism.missouri.edu and click on the Webcam image at upper-left. Footprints on the sidewalk will be added to show the students where to stand. A sign will instruct them to look up to the roof of Gannett Hall, smile and wave.

The Donald W. Reynolds Foundation is a national philanthropic organization founded in 1954 by the late media entrepreneur for whom it is named. Headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, it is one of the largest private foundations in the United States.

Rachel Dennis, a senior from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is pursuing a dual major in journalism (advertising) and political science. She has interned at Norman-Robert Communications in Columbia, Mo., and the Missouri House of Representatives in Jefferson City, Mo. Upon graduation in May 2006, Dennis hopes to pursue a career in account management with a Chicago advertising agency.