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TCC’s new Center for Creativity provides a multidisciplinary work environment where students can prepare for the workforce.
Imagine an educational environment with no walls. A place where students with varied interests converge to create innovative projects and learn about one another’s crafts. Where students interested in print journalism can also learn television journalism techniques, where traditional art students can learn digital art forms, and where faculty from various disciplines join forces to create classes for students on campus and those taking courses online.
These collaborations are already occurring in professional workplaces across the country, from advertising agencies to newspapers. Now, they are also taking place at Tulsa Community College (TCC).
It’s all thanks to the new Center for Creativity, a $22 million, 46,289-square-foot building located across from TCC’s Metro Campus that brings together communications, digital media and traditional art instruction into one modern, environmentally oriented facility.
The concept for the Center for Creativity emerged in 2000, when TCC education leaders came together to design a facility that would allow the college to significantly expand its digital education delivery, while also encouraging collaboration among faculty and students and serving community needs. Partially funded through a Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education bond package and by private donations, the facility began hosting classes in August.
The Center for Creativity houses several academic areas — art and graphic design, computer information systems, visual arts, journalism/communications, television production, instructional design and radio and broadcasting — and provides an environment where faculty and students can interact freely. Art, digital media and journalism faculty office in the same hallway. Computer labs are filled with the latest equipment, and students learn Adobe software and Final Cut Pro on both Mac and PC computers to develop their skills in digital media, video editing, Web design and graphic design, to name a few. The multimedia-equipped classrooms look out into the hallways through opaque glass that can also be used as a whiteboard.
The opposite side of the building, which is not yet complete, will include studio space for printing, jewelry, sculpture, painting, figure drawing and 3D media, as well as a photography studio and lab. The area will be outfitted with remote-controlled skylights to provide customized levels of natural light, built-in display space for student work and movable walls to allow students to interact with classmates in other media specialties.
The two wings of the building are linked with an outdoor “green space,” complete with chairs and tables so students can relax and work on projects. The Center for Creativity features other environmentally friendly aspects as well, including a sod roof to absorb runoff, the state’s first green/sustainable rooftop.
The centerpiece of the facility is a meeting and event center that seats up to 300 people and will host TCC and community events. Selser Schaefer Architects’ design for the Center for Creativity received a 2009 Journal Record Innovator of the Year award, honoring business innovation.
As a whole, the facility provides an environment where students gain real-world skills that will prepare them for the constantly changing marketplace. Faculty hope that when students complete certificates and associate’s degrees at TCC, they will also have a portfolio of work to show potential employers or even to start their own businesses.
“The whole idea is that many of our students are coming here in order to get jobs in these fields where they will need these creative (skills), and by getting them used to … working across these disciplines, by getting used to this idea, it’s better preparation for them,” says Dr. Steven Wilson, associate dean of the liberal arts division.
Last year, TCC quadrupled the number of students majoring in digital media — from 25 to 100 — and the number of students enrolled at TCC this fall has increased exponentially as well. While some students are coming to TCC directly out of high school and already have computer skills, others are just discovering their abilities. Still others are returning to school because of unemployment, layoffs or because they are seeking additional skills for career advancement, says Mary Walker, associate dean of the communications services division.
Word of mouth is already positive about the new programs, says Sally Kovac, associate dean of the business and information technology division.
“I think the thing that I’ve seen that I enjoy more than anything is watching them evolve and seeing the smiles and the laughter,” Kovac says. “They love what they’re doing. That’s what it’s all about.”
The multidisciplinary approach is also popular with TCC faculty, even those outside of the three fields the Center for Creativity serves. For example, Wilson says, sociology professor Dr. Marvin Cook is working with Lisa Hopkins, associate professor of digital media, and Dr. Beverly Bailey, assistant professor of journalism and mass communications, to develop a social problems class. Bailey is developing the writing and video elements of the class, while Cook is researching the sociological aspects and Hopkins is working on a Web component.
“People are starting to get the bug,” Wilson says. “They’re starting to get that this is not exclusive to the three programs here. It’s just the beginning.”
Although some funding is still needed to complete the Center for Creativity, faculty are excited about the potential the facility shows for the future of TCC and the Tulsa community.
“There’s no such thing as standing still,” Walker says. “You’re either moving forward or backward. And we’re definitely moving forward.” Tulsa Community College will host a guided tour in mid-October to introduce city and community leaders, downtown business owners and education leaders to the award-winning Center for Creativity. Special guests will be Glen Johnson, chancellor, Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education; Stuart Price, chairman, Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education; and Mike Neal, president and CEO, Tulsa Metro Chamber. For more information on TCC’s Center for Creativity, call 595-7224 or visit www.tulsacc.edu/centerforcreativity.
