The approval fulfills a longtime dream for the department, according to its faculty members.

“We are pleased to give students the opportunity to formalize the academic and creative work they have been doing in film and video,” said Dr. Wendy R. Oliver, associate professor of theatre (in dance) and chair of the Department of Theatre, Dance, and Film. “Having this minor also strengthens the department by attracting more students.”

More than 100 students are enrolled in film and video courses, many of which are taught by Rev. Kenneth Gumbert, O.P., associate professor of film studies in theatre arts. Besides Father Gumbert, three members of the Department of English are teaching courses in film. Dr. Elaine O. Chaika, professor of linguistics, is teaching Analyzing Film; Dr. Richard J. Murphy, assistant professor of English, is teaching the History of Film Theory; and Dr. Raphael Shargel, assistant professor of English, is teaching a course on film noir.

New equipment

One reason the new film/video minor wasn’t approved earlier was the department’s lack of dedicated equipment for students studying film/video.

“The video editing equipment that our film/video students use can be used by any PC student; we did not have our own equipment, so there were accommodation problems,” Oliver said. “Father Shanley wanted us to have our own equipment before he would approve the minor.”

Father Gumbert and Oliver sought help from the Office of Institutional Advancement. Joseph P. Brum, special assistant to the president for development projects, invited a College benefactor, Philip J. Whitcome ’70, to the College to tour the new Smith Center for the Arts. After touring the Smith Center and meeting Oliver and other faculty members there, he offered to donate $185,000 to the center—including $50,000 for the video equipment. (Dr. Whitcome, who later died in December 2005, also left the College a $5.2 million bequest for scholarship purposes to benefit students in the natural sciences, mathematics, or computer science.)

With the $50,000 donation in hand and with help from Bernard G. Colo, coordinator of Academic Media Services, the department will purchase computers and software for five new editing suites to be located in the Feinstein Academic Center . The computers will run Final Cut Pro software.

“This is state-of-the-art software,” Father Gumbert said. “It’s what the professionals are using. It will look great on students’ resumés to show that they are adept at editing with Final Cut Pro.”

Course requirements

To complete the film/video minor, students must take Introduction to Theatre/Dance/Film, Film Theory, and Video Production. In addition, they must choose two of the following: Analyzing Film: An Introduction, History of Film: Silent Era and Early Sound, History of Film: Classic Era and Beyond, or Catholic Imagination in Film. Finally, they must choose between Screenwriting or Advanced Video Production.

“This curriculum helps students develop historical, theoretical, and technical knowledge of these media, a sense of visual literacy, and a basis for reflecting on the aesthetic nature of film and video as both fine arts and commercial media,” said Father Gumbert.

The department recently held a meeting for interested students to explain the requirements of the new minor and to assess their interest in declaring a minor in film/video.

“We were especially concerned about any juniors or seniors who might have to juggle their schedules to take all the required courses,” Oliver said. “We had more than 20 students attend. Ten students began the process of declaring the minor and I expect that more will declare in the fall.”

“We’ve been working quietly on developing this minor for as long as I have been teaching at PC,” said Father Gumbert, who noted the minor also received Faculty Senate approval. “The students have been waiting for this for years. The College now recognizes the importance of film and video as a credible course of study; parents also consider it important. Finally, after almost 15 years, we have realized a dream.”