Lehman College dedicated a brand new, state-of-the art media center on April 23, the culmination of 11 years of planning and $16 million in funding.

The new center, in Carman Hall, will be a hub for students from the journalism, communications, theater, music and art departments. Its two floors feature a broadcasting studio, an all-digital newsroom, an eight-room audio editing suite, a music recording control room and multi-purpose classrooms.

“We have a high definition video and audio studio that‘s comparable to what you would find at CNN,” said Jerold Barnard, executive director of the center, who helped conceptualize and plan the space.

“This kind of facility doesn’t really exist anywhere on any campus in New York City, as far as I know,” he said
College and CUNY officials, as well as Deputy Borough President Aurelia Greene, attended the new site’s dedication. Musicians from Lehman faculty performed.

Barnard said it took 11 long years for the center to become a reality. Funding issues along the way delayed the project, which had to be revised several times to keep up with recent technology. The wait was worth it, he said, and an amazing transformation from the dark, closed off space it replaced.

“It was basically a cave—a big cave, but a cave,” Barnard remembered. Now, the two-floor, 22,000-square-foot site boasts a huge skylight, glass paneling and a 900-square-foot series of photos on display by artist Nade Haley.

“The whole place feels very open and charming and alive,” Barnard said.

Classes in TV production and news writing began in the center this fall.  The broadcasting studio can feed programs directly to the public access TV station BRONXNET, which is located in the same building, and faculty have plans to start and produce a student news show in the future.

The center will also be welcoming a new faculty member this fall: Emmy Award-winning composer Michael Bacon (brother of actor Kevin Bacon), a Lehman alumnus, will teach film scoring, a course offered at only a few other schools on the east coast. Bacon performed on guitar at the ceremony as did violinist Philippe Quint and pianist Molly Morkoski.

School officials said they hope the site can become a sought-after space for professionals in the film and music industry as well.

“We all know the movie the ‘Bronx Tale,’ said Lehman President Dr. Ricardo R. Fernandez. “Over the coming years, this center will see the creation of hundreds, even thousands, of Bronx tales, woven in this magnificent facility.”