With the Master Plan in full effect, the Media Communications and Visual Arts program has started to unveil its big plans for the changes, moves and additions happening in the near future.

“The most significant change is going to be moving the art department to Wilcox,” Department Chair Robert Klaeger said.

The Media Communications merged with the Art department three years ago but now it is time that they connect them physically. Most of the construction done on campus so far has taken place around Paton House and its parking lot, prompting the question of how it fits into the plan.

According to Professor Klaeger, the art studios that are currently located in Paton House will be moved onto the third floor of Willcox Hall. They are going to create studios for painting, drawing and preparation. Paton House will then be renovated and turned into administrative offices, but the details of who is exactly moving in is unclear at the moment.

“We all loved being in our old charming stone building but I look forward to the move as a way to energize the department,” painting professor Kathryn Morohn said.

The changes expand into The Art Barn, which although is typically reserved for ceramics, will also be getting a makeover.

“The Art Barn is going to get rebuilt so that it can be used for both ceramics and sculpture,” Klaeger said. “There is a lot of unused space in there so we are going to take advantage of it.”

The Art Department is not alone in its expansion. The Media Communications major will be getting two additional classrooms. One will serve as a screening room while the other will be a new studio space.

“The new studio space will be a sound stage and The Art Barn renovations will be completed by this summer,” Klaeger said.

The spatial merge of the Media Communications and Visual Arts departments between the Art Barn and Paton House are expected to be finished by the end of the Summer of 2014 as for the rest of the changes they will not take place until the Spring of 2015.