NEW CENTER AT SAINT ROSE NAMED “WILLIAM RANDOLPH HEARST CENTER FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND INTERACTIVE MEDIA”

ALBANY (September 26, 2011) -- A legendary name in the world of media and publishing now adorns a 21st-century building in Albany…and it’s on the Saint Rose campus.

The College of Saint Rose today announced the naming of one of its newest academic buildings as the William Randolph Hearst Center for Communications and Interactive Media (CCIM), the technologically advanced home of the College’s distinguished communications and music industry programs.

At its recent meeting, the College’s board of trustees approved the new name in recognition of the William Randolph Hearst Foundation’s recent $300,000 grant to The College of Saint Rose. The cumulative giving of the Hearst Foundations to Saint Rose totals nearly $1 million in the form of endowed scholarships and capital support.

An all-digital, fully equipped learning environment opened in January 2010, the 20,400 square-foot facility includes a high definition television studio and control room, Internet radio station and production lab, Journalism Media Lab, two state-of-the-art recording studios, a 1,200 square-foot live performance venue and computer labs for newspaper, graphics and media writing classes. The center serves as an incubator for ideas that will have an impact on the world of communications and music.

“Given how fast communications and the music industry are changing, there will always be a need for students who can envision and create new technologies, fresh content and innovative business practices to meet the demand for new ways of delivering public information. The William Randolph Hearst Center for Communications and Interactive Media will prepare students to meet these challenges by developing their skills and professional competencies to excel in all areas of the communications industry. We are honored that the Hearst Foundations have chosen this facility at Saint Rose to bear the family name,” said Saint Rose President Dr. R. Mark Sullivan.
 

"Our grant to name the William Randolph Hearst Center for Communications and Interactive Media at The College of Saint Rose represents Mr. Hearst’s deep commitment to the education of young people, many of whom will become tomorrow’s leaders in media, communications and the arts,” said Paul “Dino” Dinovitz, executive director of the Hearst Foundations. “The Saint Rose CCIM will further that tradition, and the Foundations are proud to continue our longstanding partnership with Saint Rose.”
 

“As William Randolph Hearst’s great grandson, I cannot be more proud to see his name on the Center for Communications and Interactive Media. It is highly appropriate given William Randolph Hearst’s lifelong dedication to news reporting that his legacy is kept alive in the minds of future journalists, editors and music industry leaders. I am thrilled every year when I meet the students who are achieving their dreams through a Hearst scholarship, and now some of those same students will be walking through these doors,” said George R. Hearst III, trustee of The College of Saint Rose.
  

The communications program at Saint Rose is one of the fastest-growing majors, currently serving about 160 undergraduate and 30 graduate students. Since its inception more than 25 years ago, the curriculum has combined communication theory with practical application and internships, preparing students for the field’s ever-changing technological advances. The College’s music industry program dates to the late 1970s, when Saint Rose first offered a degree in music with a specialization in multi-track recording. In October 2010, Billboard magazine cited the College as one of just 28 “Schools of Rock” nationwide for its innovative music industry program.

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