All photos courtesy of Robert Kinnaird / The Hofstra Chronicle
Over winter break, the Lawrence Herbert School of Communication (LHSC) got a new look – transforming the once-blank first floor walls into a colorful canvas of student life. The redesign, spearheaded by Mark Lukasiewicz, the first-year dean of LHSC, highlights a rebranding and changing of the culture within the school to a more integrated student body.
“This project wasn’t a redecoration so much as it was an exercise in storytelling,” Lukasiewicz said. “[It’s] sharing what we do and who we are with each other, with visitors, with alums and with prospective students.”
The school’s student media organizations, which operated completely separately before last semester, now collaborate regularly. All of their logos now sit together in a square in LHSC hallways, showing the progress that has been made since Lukasiewicz began his tenure as dean in July.
“I love the student media wall,” said Assistant Director of Content Strategy and Student Media Engagement David Henne. “I initially worried we didn’t have enough student media logos to populate the entire display, but now we’re adding in an extra row just to fit all our organizations.”
Other walls feature the opportunities that Herbert School students undertake during their time at Hofstra with photos of internships and study abroad programs. The area outside of the WRHU studios now has a display honoring Lawrence Herbert, creator of the Pantone system and namesake of LHSC.
Each wall also now contains a mounted television showcasing student shows and projects.
“This was an important project because it tells visitors who we are,” Henne said. “We’re emphasizing students’ work and accomplishments in a visual way, which is vital to do inside a school such as the LHSC.”
All of these different themed sections are surrounded by enlarged photos of students hard at work for their respective organizations similar to the images that were put up on the unispan a year ago. These images include shots from the LHSC’s first major collaborative project under the new dean, Hofstra Votes Live, which took place in November.
“I love all the images of students doing what they love,” Lukasiewicz said. “It reminds us all of why we are here.”
Getting students to work across departments is also a part of this project. The former “green room” on the second floor has been converted into a “writer’s room.” The room has been refurnished and includes a white board and large screen television. The hope is that new spaces such as this room will help to inspire more school-wide projects like Hofstra Votes Live.
“[It’s] a great resource for all our students storyboarding a film shoot or planning a TV show,” Lukasiewicz said. “[It’s] a comfortable, warm, collaborative space to create individually or in teams.”
This new design is meant to inspire current students and draw in new students. “The reaction I have gotten so far is one of pride,” Lukasiewicz said. “I think LHSC students – current and future – will continue to feel that way.”
The final piece of the puzzle left to be completed is the alumni wall, which will feature recent LHSC alumni who have gone on to find success in their fields.
Lukasiewicz and Henne said they are thrilled and impressed with the finished product. “The colors look sharp, the images look crisp and the new monitors and videos draw your attention,” Henne said. “It’s exactly what [we were] hoping for.”
