By Thomas Lynn
The Board of Trustees met for its February meeting and entered the 21st century with the addition of brand new iPADS for members.
But, the future remains hazy for a number of programs and employees at Daytona State College.
This year will see the last of government funding for DSC’s public television station, WDSC-TV 15, said Michael Vitale, Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs.
For most state colleges, funding for broadcast systems at the state and federal level began to dissolve last year. The government took issue with the educational purpose of WDSC, of the lack thereof, and will leave the program $1 million dollars lighter. Although a great deal of money may be lost, DSC will continue to broadcast using the station.
“It should be there for the students,” Vitale said, adding that the plan is to move the station in a whole new direction.
WDSC staff was informed by Vitale that by June 30 their employment will be terminated. They have the option to apply for new positions inside DSC, but have been given a head start to search for any outside work from the College.
Faculty has been brought in to draw up an outline to establish an academic program to be tailor made for the new WDSC. Spear heading the group is Eric Breitenbach, from the photography department, Elena Jarvis from journalism programs and Jake Nicely, who leads the music production programs at DSC.
Together, with perhaps the future help of the University of Central Florida, the Center for Interactive Media is being launched. Current courses will be channeled into the Center and new ones will be created to address the rapidly and constantly changing landscape of modern journalism. By also utilizing Social Media , iPhone technology and web-based publishing, the goal is to relocate already existing programs to a more expansive environment, while creating classes that bring student journalists into the new millinium.
An A.S. in Interactive Media will be the first product of the new major and classes will start Fall 2013. As courses are created and streamlined, the hope is DSC can eventually offer a Bachelor’s of Science in the field, perhaps in conjunction with UCF, as is now done with the bachelor’s in photography.
Wasted space in the WDSC facility will begin to see usefulness as well. The Faculty Innovation Center, currently located on the second floor in the library, where teachers go to record short lectures or work with online courses and other technology, will be moved into the WDSC facility.
Board members could agree on shuffling things around to open space for the library, but were incapable of settling on a decision for the construction of upcoming buildings for the Master Plan project. The Master Plan, an evaluation that takes place every five years, hopes to remodel DSC with a few parking garages, a new cafeteria and taking advantage of additional unused areas on campuses.
For the Master Plan, the first priority at the Daytona campus is to replace the Theater Center, building 220, and put in its stead a Student Center. Other than a cafeteria, it’s unclear at present what the Student Center will be used for. Trustee Forough Hosseini, however, worried more about where the Center will be located then what its purpose will be.
“Why does it have to be there?,” Hosseini asked President Carol Eaton.
“Because that’s where building 220 is,” answered Eaton.
The Theater Center is in such disrepair that it must be torn down, according to architects of the Master Plan. Hosseini’s suggestion was to tear it down, fill the space with a parking lot and move the proposed Student Center along ISB with building 1200, also known as the Hosseini Building. More buildings along ISB would cloak the eyesore of DSC’s large parking lots. But, it would also combine foot traffic with road traffic, said Steve Eckman, Director of Facility Planning Department.
Students would be inclined to pass through the parking lots and dodge oncoming traffic to compensate for the College’s inconvenient design.
The Master Plan does include adding a parking garage along the ISB, so that it will provide some cover and the foot traffic will be minimum.
“I know its way down the road but I think it’s good to have this input,” said trustee Dwight Lewis, who is board chair.