June 11, 1998 Contact: Barbara McKenna (408) 459-2495; mckenna@cats.ucsc.edu

UC Santa Cruz announces a new department in film and video

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SANTA CRUZ, CA--The film and video program at the University of California, Santa Cruz, has been named an independent department, the second program in the Division of the Arts to receive this status in recent months.

Film and video was previously affiliated with the Theater Arts Department. The program's first step toward independence came last year when, for the first time, students were able to earn a degree in film and video, rather than study the subject as a concentration within the theater arts major. With this latest step, the program attains the autonomy to set its budget and make independent administrative and curricular decisions.

Film and video is one of the campus's fastest growing majors: The five-member faculty teach an average of 600 students each quarter and the campus's Planning and Budget unit expects these numbers to double within the next five years. This year some 60 students will graduate with a B.A. in film and video and an estimated 80 students are expected to earn the degree in 1998-99.

"The reasons to create a film and video department were compelling," said Edward Houghton, dean of the Division of the Arts, which oversees the new department. "The program's tremendous growth in recent years and its distinct curriculum presented convincing arguments for creating an autonomous program."

"It's something of a clich=E9 to say that film has become the art form of the 20th century, but it's true nonetheless," said Eli Hollander, a professor of film and video and chair of the department. "This is a distinct discipline and we are quite excited at the potential this new status gives the program. To begin with, we're looking forward to expanding our curriculum and fostering interdisciplinary collaborations with other departments."

Houghton also noted that a new 391-seat film and video classroom will open in the fall, which will support expanded activity by the new department. The new space, outfitted with advanced screening equipment, will make it possible to offer large classes, special lectures and screenings, and film series.

In conjunction with this announcement comes film and video's annual screening of senior project films and videos, produced by the graduating students in the film and video production concentration. Screenings takes place on Thursday, June 18, and Friday, June 19, at 7 p.m. in the Music Center Recital Hall. They are free and open to the public; those interested in attending should arrive early as a full house is expected each night.

This release is also available on the World Wide Web at UCSC's "Services for Journalists" site (http://www.ucsc.edu/news/journalist).

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