The NMC was founded in 1993 by a group of hardware manufacturers, software developers, and publishers who realized that the ultimate success of their multimedia-capable products depended upon their acceptance by the higher education community in a way that had never been achieved before.

These companies -- Apple Computer, Adobe Systems, Macromedia, and Sony -- guessed that a community of innovators embedded in leading colleges and universities would amplify the impact of their tools in a wide range of disciplines, and that such a community could be uniquely self-sustaining and adaptive.

To that end, the founding partners launched the first Search for Excellence, to identify schools in which an investment in multimedia capacity could bear fruit. The colleges among the first group of 22 academic institutions were chosen for their demonstrated competence at using new media technologies, as well as their geographic distribution and breadth of academic specialties.

One of the original 22 academic institutions chosen, Virginia Tech opened its New Media Center (or NMC) doors for the first time in 1994. Located on the second floor of Newman Library at the time, the New Media Center was composed of a new development lab with 4 Individual PowerMac stations for individual projects and a main space containing 20 PowerMac computers and one instructor station.

One of the defining characteristics of the New Media Center from its start has been that the lab is accessible not only to members of the university, but members of the local community as well. Offering classes on many different subjects, people could also use the lab for on-line communications, interactive writing, desktop publishing, digital audio and video, photography programs, 3-D modeling, animation and computer-managed instruction.

In the year 2000, the NMC moved to its current location in 1140 Torgerson Hall. With the new space came many new exciting features: two sound-reducing rooms devoted to audio recording, the 1160 lab space as the main computer lab, which is eight times larger than before, including Windows machines for the first time, and a connecting classroom in 1120 with computers and an instructor setup allowing a unique multimedia presentation experience for a wide range of subjects. The center has constantly been upgraded with the latest advancements in computer technology in order to keep pace with the ever expanding world of new media and design.

In August of 2008 the New Media Center officially changed its name to the InnovationSpace. With this name change came a new appearance and the inclusion of three individual video editing bays in the back of the computer lab. The InnovationSpace continues the legacy of the New Media Center in fostering creativity in the university and public through multimedia by means of offering state-of-the-art personal computers and equipment.

For more information please reference the Facilities and Services pages. For more information on the national group, feel free to visit them at http://www.nmc.org.