The Jacob Spori Building was originally built in 1903 on a site that was selected by Apostle John Henry Smith on March 7, 1899. In the 1970's the first Communication Department was created on the then Ricks College campus. The first Communication classes were in the Jacob Spori Building and have been the home of the Department until the fire which destroyed the building in November, 2000.
For three years the Communication Department found a home in the Manwaring Student Center. But when the Jacob Spori building was rebuilt and dedicated during the summer of 2003, the Communication Department has once again found a home in the halls of the Jacob Spori Building.
"On the southern edge of Rexburg a gentle slope led to the bench. The terrain was rough, with lava rocks and alternating depressions and elevations covered with pungent sagebrush. This was the right spot. Here the academy would be seen for miles in every direction. It was to be of fine design and monumental in proportion and purpose" (quote from Remembering the Spori published by BYU-Idaho Press)
