The Regents of the University of California have approved the appointment of Teri Schwartz as dean of the world famous UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, effective July 1, 2009.

 

Schwartz will occupy the position being vacated by professor and film preservation pioneer Robert Rosen. Founding director of the UCLA Film & Television Archive, Rosen has served as dean of the school for the past 11 years. He will continue his teaching and preservation activities.

 

“This is an extraordinary opportunity at a unique time in our history,” said Schwartz. “I’m thrilled and honored to become the dean of a premiere school. I look forward to leading the effort and, with our community, creating a distinctive vision and long-range plan that will guide us into a very exciting and dynamic future together."

 

Scott L.Waugh, UCLA’s executive vice chancellor and provost, thanked the members of the search/advisory committee for assembling an outstanding pool of candidates for this position and for their role in recruiting Schwartz. "I am confident that the School of Theater, Film and Television will thrive under her capable leadership," he said. He continued: "I also want to thank Dean Robert Rosen for 11 years of distinguished service as dean and for his numerous contributions to UCLA.”

 

A Los Angeles native, UCLA alumna and successful film producer, Schwartz has served as professor and inaugural dean of the School of Film and Television at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) in Los Angeles since 2003. There, she has engaged the school community in creating a singular vision and long-range strategic plan for master visual storytelling grounded in humanism, innovation and diversity. In particular, groundbreaking strategic initiatives she created for diversity, humanistic storytelling, global industry connectivity and new equipment and technology were successful in drawing funding from — and forging new partnerships with — LMU leadership, private donors and industry.

 

Schwartz began her film career in the early 1970s, developing and producing successful feature films for many top actors, directors and writers. A few of her many film credits include the Golden Globe Best Picture nominee "Sister Act," "Beaches," "Nuts," "Life With Mikey," "Joe Versus the Volcano," "When Billie Beat Bobby" and "Hope." Her projects have garnered nominations in a variety of categories for Oscar, Emmy, Grammy, MTV and CLIO awards.

 

For many years prior to her appointment at LMU, Schwartz served as president and producer of her own film and television production company, Teri Schwartz Productions. In addition, from 1995 to 2000, she served as president, producer and partner of Cherry Alley Productions, creating and producing a variety of successful entertainment projects for film and in partnership with Academy Award-winner Goldie Hawn.

 

Schwartz is a member of the Directors Guild of America; the Producers Guild of America; the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences; the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Foundation Board of Directors; chair, Education Committee for the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences; the Advisory Council for the Caucus for Television Producers and Writers; the International Academy for Television Arts and Sciences; the Hawn Foundation Board of Directors; and the Savannah Film Festival Board of Advisors. She is special advisor to TED/Pangea Day. She has served on the juries for the Palm Springs International Shorts Film Festival, the Monte Carlo International Television Festival and the Babelgum International Online Film Festival.

 

She earned a B.A. degree in English literature at UCLA, graduating Phi Beta Kappa, magna cum laude in 1971. She received her M.A. degree in film at the University of London in 1973.

 

The UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television offers its students a unique blend of scholarship and practical training, bringing together the highest levels of professionalism with the social mission of a public university. Its landmark integration of theater, film, television and digital media and its outstanding faculty and facilities nurture creative innovation, personal vision and social responsibility. Alumni include such notables as Allison Anders, Jack Black, Charles Burnett, Francis Ford Coppola, Tim Robbins, Moctesuma Esparza, Catherine Hardwicke, Todd Holland, Alexander Payne, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Tim Robbins, Brad Silberling, Thomas Schumacher and Audrey Wells.

 

UCLA is California’s largest university, with an enrollment of nearly 37,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The UCLA College of Letters and Science and the university’s 11 professional schools feature renowned faculty and offer more than 300 degree programs and majors. UCLA is a national and international leader in the breadth and quality of its academic, research, health care, cultural, continuing education and athletic programs. Four alumni and five faculty members have been awarded the Nobel Prize.