One week ago, Gannon University held a ceremony to officially open the new School of Communication and the Arts, which sits at the corner of West 7th and Peach streets. Gannon announced plans for the building after the Fall 2013 semester, when enrollment at the university increased by over 200 students – a recently unheard of trend among most colleges. In addition to the new building, the university added programs of study in both advertising and journalism communications.

Keith Taylor, Ph.D., president of Gannon, emphasized not only the importance of getting all of the art programs under one roof, but also the theme of “synergy” that the building plans to follow. AJ Miceli, director of the School of Communication and the Arts, described Gannon graduates’ success in areas such as television, digital graphics, animation and, most recently, social media. Lauren Loop, a senior theatre and communications major, also elaborated on Dr. Taylor’s point of synergy, saying that creative minds have amazing power when put together.

Bishop Lawrence Persico then blessed the building. The blessing featured a performance of the song “Lead Kindly, Light” by Steve Weiser, Sam Hyman, Fr. Mike Kesicki and Fr. Shawn Clerkin.

On the whole, the ceremony was lovely, and guests were given a chance to go inside and tour the new facility. Its upgrades include a larger radio station for 90.5 WERG, a state-of-the-art television studio, up-to-date sound editing software and a multipurpose room.

I strongly urge you to visit the building yourself, if you get the opportunity. It is a beautiful building, and the possibilities of what can come out of it are seemingly endless.