News Story

Renovations to IU’s historic Ernie Pyle Hall are expected to be completed this summer. The building, which was once home to the School of Journalism, will house the Walter Center for Career Achievement and the university’s student recruitment and admissions office.

Ernie Pyle Hall’s renovations are a part of the university’s larger Old Crescent Renovation project, which encompasses updates to Kirkwood Hall, Ernie Pyle Hall and Swain Hall to add new building systems, technologies and accessibility upgrades.

IU Senior Architect Bob Richardson said the renovations will benefit the admissions office and career center, giving them more space and a better location.

“They’ll be right in the heart of campus,” he said.

That relocation will also benefit prospective students visiting campus with their parents, Richardson added.

“When you think about the people that come to IU with their families for the first time, they’re going to see more of the front door of IU,” he said. “It creates a new place where the public will come, as well as employers, where students will begin their tour of IU.”

Richardson said Ernie Pyle Hall was entirely redesigned to house the Office of Admissions and the Walter Center.

Media School Director of Facilities and Technology Jay Kincaid, who served as a consultant for the project, said the renovations included revamping presentation spaces and technology.

Kincaid said this includes transforming the building’s main lobby, which will now include four large display screens and two floor-to-ceiling monitors. Additionally, the former Indiana Daily Student newsroom will become a large presentation space, which Kincaid said can seat up to 175 people.

Ernie Pyle Hall’s ground floor will house the university’s Office of Admissions, and the aforementioned presentation spaces will be used predominantly for admissions presentations, Kincaid said. The Walter Center will move to the building’s second floor.

Kincaid said the building will still be used for classes, and includes a large lecture hall.

The building housed IU’s journalism program for more than 60 years. It was previously renovated in 1973.

Ernie Pyle Hall was built in 1938, when it served as the university’s Stores and Services Building.

It was renamed in 1954 for Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ernie Pyle, a former IU student and Indiana Daily Student editor who was killed in WWII, the same year IU’s Department of Journalism, the Indiana Daily Student, Arbutus yearbook and the IU printing plant moved into the building.

In 2013, the School of Journalism became part of The Media School, a new unit that combined telecommunications, journalism and communication and culture.

The Media School moved into Franklin Hall in 2016.