Renovated D Vickers Hall Unveiled, Featuring the Robin Roberts Broadcast Media Center

On Friday, October 17, 2025, Southeastern Louisiana University celebrated a significant milestone with the dedication of the newly renovated D Vickers Hall and the state-of-the-art Robin Roberts Broadcasting Center in Hammond.  The event was highlighted by a generous donation from Robin Roberts, an esteemed Southeastern alumnus, who donated funds toward the project.

This comprehensive project involved transforming an 80,000-square-foot academic building and adding a 33,000-square-foot broadcasting center. The building features three broadcast media studios, updated classrooms, modern labs, a renovated Vonnie Borden Theatre, and expanded office space. D. Vickers now houses 104 offices, 27 classrooms, two 100-seat lecture rooms, five computer labs, and four English/language labs.

Externally, the design aimed to completely revamp D Vickers Hall’s appearance and its relationship to the surrounding campus quadrangle. Two new lobby spaces on the building’s north and south ends draw inspiration from the recent Student Union expansion, creating welcoming entrances that enhance the building’s visual identity. The overall design balances a distinctive broadcast/media aesthetic with harmonious integration into the campus landscape.

University officials stated the facility will enhance instruction for communication and media studies while also improving resources for English, Theatre, and Foreign Language programs.

“I could never have imagined what is behind us right now, but what is most important  —  everyone who is going to walk through those doors, because you are rooted to rise,” Roberts stated. She then went on to say, “It’s really important for them to know — yes I’m very proud. But I’m the legacy. They’re the future. They are the now.”

Holly & Smith Architects is proud to have contributed to this transformation, building on their role in developing the master plan that reimagined the quadrangle and its surrounding buildings.