The previous office of the Daily Kent Stater, located on the first floor of Taylor Hall, will become the May 4 visitors’ center. The center isn’t expected to open until October 2010. HEATHER STAWICKI | DAILY KENT STATER

Credit: DKS Editors

The first floor of Taylor Hall has been vacant for three months. The echoing of a pounding hammer, however, hints it’s not completely empty.

Minor renovations, such as the repainting of the walls, are setting the stage for a Fall 2008 move-in date for two academic departments. The College of Architecture and Environmental Design will be sharing the floor with the newly relocated School of Communication Studies. A May 4 visitors’ center will also be designated to the room previously used as the Daily Kent Stater newsroom.

Associate Provost Laura Davis said the center still needs funding and will not open until October 2010.

The School of Communication is moving because of the Music and Speech Center’s transformation into the Roe Green Center, said Tom Euclide, director of architecture and engineering.

Architecture and interior design students will have access to a new digital commons area. Two computers will serve to print student projects. The classrooms and faculty offices will remain intact, Euclide said.

“It’s about 30 percent complete,” he said.

Euclide said the renovations haven’t allowed for much use of green technology. The floor, however, will use high-efficiency light bulbs, similar to those found in Franklin Hall.

The May 4 visitors’ center will be open to future renovations, Euclide said. Gifts from past commemorations, such as T-shirts, posters and gifts from speakers will be on display inside, said Stephanie Vincent, president of the May 4 Task force.

“It will be a good exhibit because it will tie up all of the various memorials found in the area into a cohesive center of education,” she said. “We have heard of visitors to Kent State who are somewhat lost on where to begin with the May 4 memorials on campus, and this will be a good starting point for everyone that has the dedication of all who are involved.”

The May 4 memorial, which was dedicated in 1990, is located nearby at the northwest front of Taylor Hall.

Contact buildings and grounds reporter Ryan Sheridan

at [email protected].