Woodbury University Announces Faculty Appointments in School of Media, Culture & Design and Institute of Transdisciplinary Studies

Woodbury University announces faculty appointments in two of the university's schools. End Quote

Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA (1888PressRelease) September 18, 2013 - Kicking off the 2013-2014 academic year, Woodbury University has announced faculty appointments in two of the university's four schools. The School of Media, Culture & Design (MCD) has named four to academic posts while the Institute of Transdisclipinary Studies has marked a transition in the leadership of its Writing Department.

"We have significantly strengthened our core capabilities, with the addition of gifted faculty members who bring exceptional academic and professional credentials to MCD," said Edward Clift, Ph.D., Dean, School of Media, Culture & Design. MCD is a dynamic school with the special mission of educating the next generation of creative professionals. The School's mix of major degree-granting programs covers almost every facet of contemporary culture. Students typically learn directly from faculty who work in the surrounding creative economy. Joining the School are:

• David Collins, who has been named visiting Assistant Professor and Chair of Filmmaking following Prof. Bruce Cook's retirement this past summer. Collins holds an MFA from the Peter Stark Motion Picture Producing program at USC and is an accomplished producer in both film and TV, including "Queer Eye," "Session 9," and "Big Ideas for a Small Planet," among many others. He holds an undergraduate degree in English from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
• Kristen Fuhs, as assistant professor in the communication department. She completed a PhD in Critical Studies at the USC School of Cinematic Arts and earned her undergraduate degree in Communication Studies from Northwestern University. Her academic areas of interest include documentary, crime genres, and socio-legal studies related to media representation.
• Robert Thornton, as assistant professor in MCD's psychology department. Thornton holds a PhD in Cognitive Psychology from USC and achieved national recognition for his work on sentence processing, cognitive aging, and language acquisition. Before coming to Woodbury, Thornton was a research associate and Mellon Fellow at Pomona College.
• Xiaolin Yu, as visiting assistant professor and assistant chair in the filmmaking department. A native of China, she graduated from the American Film Institute with an MFA in Producing. She earned an undergraduate degree at Temple University is in Broadcasting, Telecommunications, and Mass Media. Most recently, Yu was the co-producer of a short film that was accepted into the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.

In addition, Nicole Keating has been appointed to the role of Associate Dean for Graduate and Professional Studies in preparation for the launch of new programs.

Passing the Torch

At the Institute of Transdisciplinary Studies, Dr. Reuben Ellis has been named Chair of the Writing Department Dr. Ellis has been joined Woodbury University in 2010, having served as Director of the Writing Center, Assistant Chair and, last spring, Interim Chair.

"Reuben brings a rich literary sense, a collegial manner, and a student-centered perspective to the role, and I'm confident that our students will enjoy working with him," said Douglas J. Cremer, PhD, Dean, Institute of Transdisciplinary Studies. The Institute offers students a cutting-edge approach to exploring the limits of learning, embracing the idea that individuals need to determine the purpose of their education for themselves, but always doing so in cooperation and collaboration with others.

Dr. Ellis succeeds Dr. Rich Matzen, who served as Chair since 2005, and who remains in the department as Assistant Chair. "Under Dr. Matzen's leadership, the Writing Department has become a pacesetter in assessment, student support, faculty collaboration, and academic standards," Cremer said, lauding his service, leadership and vision. "He has helped create a true community among full-time and adjunct faculty and has seen several adjuncts he has mentored go on to full-time positions at local community colleges. The Writing Department has achieved much progress and success in Rich's eight years at the helm."

About Woodbury University
Founded in 1884, Woodbury University is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in Southern California. Woodbury offers bachelor's degrees from the School of Architecture, School of Business, School of Media, Culture & Design, and Institute of Transdisciplinary Studies, along with an MBA program, Master of Architecture (MArch), Master of Science in Architecture (MSArch), and Master of Organizational Leadership. The San Diego campus offers bachelor of architecture, Master of Real Estate Development for Architects (MRED), and Master of Science in Architecture, Landscape, and Urbanism degrees. Visit www.woodbury.edu for more information.

Media Contact:
Ken Greenberg
Edge Communications, Inc.
(323) 469-3397
ken ( @ ) edgecommunicationsinc dot com

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