BEA_2014_0239New this year: BEA Topic Talks

BEA’s Topic Talks are a series of focused and organized idea exchanges taking place at the convention. They are conversations about awareness and possibilities.  CAA chair Adam Kuban, Ball State University refers to them as, “open forums for discussion rather than unidirectional information distribution.”

Topics Talks are located in BEA’s exhibit hall located at the Westgate Hotel & Casino, Pavilion 4-8, and each will have a moderator and an optional added guest or two to help keep the conversation moving.  They take place on Sunday, April 22 and Monday, April 23.

SUNDAY, APRIL 23
1
:45 PM – 2:45 PM             Taking a Lead at BEA
BEA is an organization that is largely driven by its dedicated volunteers.  We have many volunteer opportunities, from interest division leaders, board members, committee chairs/members, and projects related to traditional research and creative scholarship.  Join a conversation to discover more about these opportunities and the governance of the organization, or come ready to share your ideas about potential programs or partnerships you want to produce with BEA.
Facilitator: Michael Bruce, University of Alabama; BEA President 2017-2018

 MONDAY, APRIL 24
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM            Addressing the (Increasing) Corporatization of Higher Education
Speaking from my own situation, I know that my University, Ball State, has recently accepted a sizable “donation” from the Koch brothers, which, at face value, seems rather innocuous.  However, maybe I’m just a skeptic, but I doubt that this money comes without strings attached.  And I’ve learned that several other institutions — could be BEA-affiliated or not — are starting to do the same: Accept larger sums of money from private donors due to gradual decreases in public tax dollars available.  State legislators are imposing sterner criteria for state-supported institutions to access tax dollars, e.g., higher graduation rates, stronger push to see students through their programs of study in 4 years or less, more empirical evidence of overall impact (particularly in meeting current state workforce needs — see Wisconsin).  So, to fill the budget void, administrators seem to dabble more in the private sector … But what does this mean for the future of higher education?  Our respective University mission statements?  The knowledge & skills we’re able to transfer to the next generation(s) of college students?

Basically, I’d like to see an open discussion that addresses this phenomenon, discussing how we negotiate Academic Integrity with the Almighty Dollar. What’s happening at your institution?  How have you or your students been affected?  Is this trend inevitable — and if it is, then is there anything we can or should do about it?  Join the dialogue as we explore this Topic Talk!
Facilitator: Adam J. Kuban, Ball State University

11:30 AM – 12:30 AM     Avid Education Partner Programs

Avid is announcing new Education Partner programs to foster a deeper engagement with the education community, including volume licensing and EDU Solution Bundles for all campus media production and learning environments.  The Avid Learning Partner program will also offer new options to deploy curriculum and Avid Certification for Media Composer, Pro Tools, Sibelius, iNEWS, MediaCentral, NEXIS, and Interplay.
Facilitator: Andy Cook, Avid’s Director of Global Education Strategy

1:15 PM – 2:15 PM     Building the Hunger for Media Production in your Department
As a small liberal arts college in New York City, St Francis College (SFC) is a small community in a large city. The mission of the college is to provide “a strong liberal arts curriculum” founded on “academic excellence, spiritual and moral values, physical fitness, social responsibility, and life-long learning”. In the Communication Arts Department, faculty encourage students to take part in the comprehensive production offerings (film, television, radio, and audio) for personal development and learn all the skills that are necessary to thrive in today’s competitive media environment, and a large portion are involved and hungry to learn new skills and collaborate with others on media production projects. Talk to faculty about ways of approaching media arts production in a small Communications department.
Facilitators: David J. Gewirtz, St. Francis College
Brian Gregory, St. Francis College
Augusta Palmer, St. Francis College

2:45 PM – 3:45 PM   Virtual Reality and its relevance to electronic media curriculum
This topic talk will be an opportunity to learn about the production and pedagogical aspects of bringing Virtual Reality production into the college classroom and curriculum.
Facilitators: Norm Medoff, Northern Arizona University
Eric Williams, Ohio University

4:00 PM– 5:00 PM   Using the Television Academy’s Oral History Interviews as a Primary Source
In 1997, the Television Academy Foundation founded the Archive of American Television to capture the stories of television and preserve them for future generations. In that time, the project has conducted over 800 oral history interviews (over 3,700 hours) with the legends of television. These interviews chronicle the birth and growth of Television History as it evolves, and are freely available worldwide. The Oral History Project continues to produce new interviews every year, and covers a variety of professions, genres, and topics in electronic media history.Interviews are conducted in a life-history format, starting with the subject’s early years and influences. The conversation then moves into their major television work, and concludes with the subject’s thoughts about his or her craft, as well as advice to aspiring professionals. The Interviews are presented uncut and unscripted, and available to the public for free at Emmys.com/Archive.
Presenter: Jenni Matz, Director, The Archive of American Television

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