Provost Communications - Summer 2022
Provost's Communications - Summer 2022
Welcome SFTV Dean Joanne Moore, J.D.
May 16, 2022
Dear LMU Community:
I am pleased to share that Joanne Moore will be the next dean of our LMU School of Film and Television, effective June 27, 2022. Dean Moore’s extensive academic leadership and teaching experience, coupled with her executive, development, and production experience in the entertainment industry, position her to lead our top-ranked film and television programs with impact. Her industry connections and insights will propel our students and programs as Dean Moore is an innovator who is always looking to the future with a fervor for creating the world we want to live in.
Dean Moore joins LMU from University of North Carolina School of the Arts, where she serves as chair and associate professor of their Producing Department. She is committed to creating and maintaining an inclusive community where everyone belongs and where students, faculty, and staff are motivated to do their best work. In her past six years at UNCSA she has been instrumental in launching interdisciplinary initiatives, recruiting a diverse roster of industry guest speakers, strategic planning, and curriculum development. Dean Moore is a mentor to department faculty and to students in the production field, earning her the Excellence in Teaching Award in 2020 for academic year 2019-20.
Dean Moore is an accomplished executive and producer with nearly two dozen film credits from Showtime, ABC, Nickelodeon, Lionsgate, Universal, Warner Brothers, and other studios. She has shepherded or produced several award-winning projects, including the Academy Award-nominated film “The Hurricane,” starring Denzel Washington while vice president of Norman Jewison’s production company, Yorktown, and the Emmy-winning film “The Devil’s Arithmetic,” during her tenure as president of Dustin Hoffman’s production company, Punch Productions.
Complementing her lauded film and teaching career, Dean Moore has given back to her community through volunteer work and creative efforts, including championing UNCSA’s The Unity Project, a celebration of uniqueness and our interconnected nature. The acclaimed project is now incorporated into their new student orientation annually. She is also the faculty advisor to the UNCSA student group Artists of Color, where she mentors students in navigating higher education and preparing to enter the entertainment industry.
Dean Moore earned her Bachelor of Arts in political science from UC Riverside, and her Juris Doctor from UCLA School of Law. Outside of her professional pursuits, Dean Moore enjoys traveling and collecting art.
I thank our search committee, chaired by Dean Tina Choe, for conducting a rigorous and comprehensive process that yielded a competitive and outstanding candidate pool. Their professionalism and engagement provided me with invaluable insights during the decision-making process.
I also extend my deepest thanks to Interim Dean Bryant Keith Alexander for his leadership and support over the past year and throughout this transition, as well as Assistant Vice Provost Jennifer Belichesky-Larson and the highly esteemed LMU SFTV faculty for their counsel and support.
Dean Moore’s dedication to student success through hands-on career preparation, providing students with the skills they need to succeed in their chosen career fields and in life, aligns with LMU’s mission to educate the whole person. I am confident that she will advance our Catholic, Jesuit, and Marymount values in her new role as dean.
Please join me in congratulating Joanne and in welcoming her to our LMU family.
With enthusiasm and gratitude,
Thomas Poon, Ph.D.
Executive Vice President and Provost
Leadership Update from the Office of the Provost
June 29, 2022
Dear Faculty Colleagues,
I am pleased to announce the appointment of José García Moreno to the position of special assistant to the provost.
As special assistant, José will serve as the university's point person for faculty protections against threats on faculty academic freedom and advisor to other special projects. The advancement and protection of academic freedom is of the utmost importance to me and to university leadership, and José is uniquely qualified to serve in this key role. This position was developed based on recommendations received from the Working Group on Faculty Protections, which was convened in March 2022 after consultation with the Faculty Senate. In this role, José will breathe life into many of the recommendations from the working group and serve as a liaison and coordinator for university processes that assist faculty under threat.
José has been with LMU for 18 years as a professor of animation in the School of Film and Television and is currently director of the Academy of Catholic Thought and Imagination, a role he has held and transformed since 2020. He has served on two Strategic Planning Steering Committees, under both Presidents Snyder and Burcham, and served as chair of the Strategic Committee for Internationalization. As chair of the Animation Department at LMU from 2005-10, José redefined the culture of the department through his leadership views and actions, in addition to curricular changes, to move toward collaboration framed by diversity. Under his leadership, animation students achieved a 92 percent retention rate.
Complementing his work in academia, José is an active, multi-award-winning artist. His animated work has been featured and celebrated in film festivals around the world, earning prizes at Havana, Toronto, San Francisco, Montreal, Mexico, and Japan. José is also a Fulbright scholar and a recipient of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation grant/CONACULTA. In 2018, he received an Animation Meritorious Award from the Kennedy Center Theater Festival.
We look forward to sharing additional information and steps we are taking to address academic freedom and faculty safety as the summer progresses. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to reach out to José if you need support in responding to a threat.
With gratitude,
Thomas Poon, Ph.D.
Executive Vice President and Provost
Professor of Chemistry