The renovation of Talbot Hall is underway and currently on schedule with the designing process by a design and architecture company out of New Orleans.
The areas being renovated are the Mary Danos Theatre, Bob Blazer television studio, KNSU radio station, two classrooms and possibly the lobby and the roof of Talbot Hall.
Assistant Vice President for Facilities Michael Davis said that Talbot Hall was built in the late 1960s and hardly any renovations have been made since. He said it is time for some renovations to update the hall.
According to assistant professor of broadcasting Lance Arnold, the television studio has not had any upgrades in 20 years except for new cameras. In the television studio, walls will be knocked down and cosmetic remodeling and new equipment will be installed to make it a state-of-the-art television studio.
The total funding to renovate Talbot Hall is $5.9 million. $1.5 million came from private sources to help make the renovations possible, and the rest came from state funding.
“It will give us a state-of-the-art theater that is heavily used by many art and music students, and it will be used for our kids to perform in a state-of-the-art theater,” said Davis. “More recruiting will more likely be occurring because of our new theater that will attract more students to our University.”
In order to purchase new equipment for KNSU and new equipment for Nicholls’ television studio $800,000 was allocated to go towards the technology for Nicholls’ television studio and station, which is Channel 99 on Charter Communications.
With all this new technology and state-of-the-art facilities for the radio station and television station, Arnold envisions these updates will trigger a student ballot to turn KNSU into television and a radio station.
“We do not like to not just have KNSU as a student organization, but have KNSU as a radio and television because right now there is no support for television,” Arnold said. “We have a station but no students who can run it, but if we get it on the ballot, we can ask for a fee increase for KNSU which will provide student jobs and a state-of-the-art television station as well as radio.”
Davis is hoping that the design process will be finished by October so they can start the bidding process. After a construction company places the best bid on the renovations, the construction process can start. The construction process should begin at the beginning of the year and should take about a year to complete.
During this process, the theater will be closed indefinitely, but classes will still continue to be taught in Talbot.