ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. — The John J. Murphy Professional Building has stood strong in the 40 years after its construction as journalism and media rapidly changed around it.
But now it’s time to modernize Murphy, which is home to St. Bonaventure University’s Jandoli School of Communication.
“It will be a game-changer for our school,” said Aaron Chimbel, dean of the Jandoli School of Communication, of the planned transformation. “We need a facility that will reflect where media is and where it is going.”
On Sept. 12, St. Bonaventure publicly launched the largest fundraising campaign in its history, seeking to raise $125 million by May 31, 2025. The campaign — “A Bolder Bonaventure: Ignite. Inspire. Invest.” — will modernize facilities within the Jandoli School, among other priorities across campus.
For more than 70 years, the Jandoli School has distinguished itself as a world-class program. Alumni include instantly recognizable and highly regarded communications professionals, such as Pulitzer Prize winner Dan Barry of the New York Times, bestselling author Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, USA Today’s Rachel Axon, ESPN’s Adrian “Woj” Wojnarowski, and three-time New York Sportswriter of the Year Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post.
According to Bob Van Wicklin, vice president for University Advancement, the school’s home in Murphy is long overdue for a makeover to ensure that this enviable record of success continues.
“Aaron Chimbel is a great, dynamic dean, but he needs a facility that matches his energy and his outlook for the future,” said Van Wicklin.
Funds raised during the campaign will provide renovations and enhanced technology throughout Murphy. Plans include the creation of an agency-like classroom, team rooms, a newsroom of the future, and a state-of-the-art broadcast production suite. This will allow for The Bona Venture, the student-run newspaper, and 88.3 FM “The Buzz,” the student-run radio station, to be moved from their present location in the Reilly Center to the Jandoli School, enabling all student media, along with SBU-TV, TAPinto Greater Olean and more, to collaborate in new ways that reflect how professional media have converged to serve the public across platforms.
Bianca Billoni, a senior journalism major, finds the move to be necessary for students to have easier access to their advisers and to be in the same space. “It will be really great for the media to actually be right in our communication school,” Billoni said.
The collaboration among student media will be enhanced with the newsroom spaces added by modernizing the facility.
“Given the size of our student body, we can collaborate together. Why not take what TAPinto Greater Olean does well and combine it with what the TV station does well?” said Rich Lee, ’75, a longtime professor in the Jandoli School. “Everybody has their own little niche but there have been times when we’ve worked together in election coverage and in different talk shows. It’s been a good experience for everybody.”
Chimbel sees these collaborative spaces as a way to improve the student experience in years to come.
