Texas Tech University

Our Building

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TTU CoMC Photo Tiny Planet

Check out the College of Media & Communication through our immersive virtual tour. Explore our building and find points of interest that highlight unique spaces in our college.

Find a Map of the Media & Communication Building

First floor ADA entrance on North East side and Elevators on South West side

Need a map to find your way around? Download our CoMC building map.

Learn more about our building

Our building includes:

  • Increase in building space 78,000 to 120,000 square feet
  • 140 faculty and staff offices
  • 24 classrooms
  • 5 seminar rooms
  • 13,000 square feet designated to faculty and student research
  • 2,000 square feet for student organizations
  • 14 video and computer labs

Where We Have Been

Mass Communications Building in Memorial Circle

Texas Technological College was created by legislative action on Feb. 10, 1923, and opened its doors to students in Fall 1925. The new college had six buildings and an enrollment of 910 students. By action of the Texas State Legislature, Texas Technological College formally became Texas Tech University on Sept. 1, 1969.

The College of Media & Communication has a long and storied history. The initial college catalog listed the first journalism courses in the Department of English. The courses focused on writing for newspapers, magazines and books. Cecil Horne taught all of the journalism courses between 1926 and 1931.

By 1931, 10 courses in journalism were offered to undergraduate students.

In 1970, advertising was transferred to the newly developed Department of Mass Communications that included journalism and broadcasting. Workers began construction on the new $3.5 million Mass Communications Building on March 22, 1974, and completed construction in February 1976. The new structure was designed to host 1,000 students.

The Department of Mass Communications was designated as the School of Mass Communications in 1988 within the College of Arts and Sciences. The school became a separate and independent College of Mass Communications in 2004.

In 2004, the college filed an application with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board for a doctorate in mass communications. The board approved the request, and the college accepted its initial doctoral class in Fall 2005.

In Fall 2011, the college was home to almost 1,500 undergraduate students majoring in advertising, electronic media and communication, journalism and public relations. The college also listed 33 doctoral and 35 master's students. In Fall 2012, a new degree program – Media Strategies – was added to the college's curriculum.

Other changes were made in Fall 2012. The College of Mass Communications became the College of Media & Communication. Two academic departments also merged. The Department of Journalism and the Department of Electronic Media & Communication were merged to form the Department of Journalism and Electronic Media.

Where We Are Going

New Mass Communications Building

Mr. Wendell Mayes is a Texas Tech alumnus with a degree in engineering. He served on the Texas Tech University Board of Regents and was named chairman of the board. He was also chair of the Texas Tech Mass Communications Advisory Committee and was inducted into the Texas Tech Mass Communications Hall of Fame in 1978.

On Oct. 15, 1976, Mayes was the keynote speaker at the dedication of the Mass Communications Building – the building we occupied until September 2012. In his presentation, he mentioned that he could talk about the physical characteristics of the building, the construction costs, and the technology used for teaching. However, Mayes chose to talk about the purpose of the building and the benefits the building would bring to students and society. “This building has for its purpose the training and the education of the minds of those who study in the field of journalism and advertising and telecommunications and photography and public relations. But it doesn't stop there, because those who learn within these walls, many of them at least, will devote their lives working in the print and broadcast media of Texas and our country. In future years people who study in this building will be the leaders in the communications industry in our state,” said Mayes.

Mayes was correct. His words of more than 36 years ago still ring true today. The newly renovated building the college will soon occupy is not just a building. It is the home where dreams of students will become a reality. We will prepare students to become the leading communicators of tomorrow. The building will be the platform on which faculty will mold the passion of students seeking successful careers in global information. To achieve the goals we have set for this building and our students, we need your help. Students need financial assistance to share the costs of their education. We need help in providing the resources within this facility to properly train and educate future leaders as they guide a dynamic industry that is essential to building a well-informed society in a democracy.

We owe much gratitude and thanks to many faculty, staff, administrators and friends for contributing to the success of our program. Our expectation and anticipation for even greater success will be met through this building initiative.

Thank you for your loyalty and generosity.

 

How to Give to Our College

Please contact the College of Media & Communication
Development Office for more information about ways to give.

Lauren D. Hill
Assistant Director of Development
+1.806.834.7783
Room 150A

Lauren.D.Hill@ttu.edu

Box 43082
Texas Tech University
Lubbock, TX 79409

give2tech.com

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