GIVING TO CMII
The funding to renovate the core CMII facility having been generously provided, the effort now is to build a secure financial foundation for the student-centered programs that will occur there.
CMII aspirations for scholarship support, entrepreneurial seed funding, resources that will keep the facility technologically current and efforts to diversify media-making are highlighted in the university’s Burning Bright capital campaign.
Tom Luse, executive producer, The Walking Dead.
Luse enrolled at Georgia State as an English major with aspirations to become a writer and earned his bachelor of arts degree in psychology. While pursuing a master’s degree in psychology, he was encouraged to pursue a career in entertainment. He was the first Georgia State student to do a film as his master’s thesis.
Funding Priorities
Student scholarships. Funding will support internships, a “new voices” multimedia production and content generation fund, potential study abroad initiatives and support for student involvement in festivals.
Research technology and innovation support. Funding will help keep the building state-of-the-art, would enable investments in experimental or new technologies and would provide seed grants for faculty research.
Programs. Funding will support symposia, lectures, industry summits and outreach efforts that connect students with the arts and media industries.
Entrepreneurship. Funding will support seed grants to student entrepreneurial teams and support for industry mentorship.
Artists in Residence and chaired faculty research positions. Funding will provide income support for temporary residencies for executives, researchers, postdocs and artists in residence, as well as aspirational targets to secure chaired funding for research professorships.
We also are receptive to other mechanisms for support, from providing mentorship and other in-kind and invaluable support to our students, to more significant opportunities that might endow CMII programs and enable naming rights for all or part of the new facility.
If you are interested in financially supporting CMII work, contact:
Brennen Dicker
[email protected]
Rachel Simon
Director of Development
[email protected]
The logistics of providing financial resources to the university are detailed at the Georgia State Foundation site.
We are grateful for your support.
Philip Dido, stunt man
Philip Dido, who majored in theater at Georgia State, has gone on to greater success as a stunt man in shows such as “Teen Wolf”, “Brockmire” and “The Walking Dead.”
Georgia State's Impact on the Booming Media Industry
Georgia State University’s most successful graduates include many who have gone on to great success in the media, entertainment and arts fields.
No Georgia public university offers a wider range of curricular offerings to train students for work in the entertainment and arts industries than Georgia State. In our region, only Georgia State brings together all the core disciplines necessary to train 21st century entertainment industry producers: advanced film/video/emerging media, graphics arts, creative writing, music technology production, business and entrepreneurship and intellectual property law. These programs are equipped with advanced technology laboratory and studio infrastructure and connect students to a highly accomplished arts and media faculty.
Georgia State’s proximity to Atlanta’s internationally renowned media industries (film, music, TV and growing application and game design capacities) also facilitates educational interactions with arts executives critical to the success of the workforce development CMII envisions.
Formidable connections already link Georgia State with the region’s entertainment and arts industries. Numerous Georgia State film graduates work or have worked as producers and other senior decision makers in public broadcasting (five in Georgia, and one each in South Carolina and Oregon who have stayed in contact with faculty).
Other Georgia State arts and media students who have experienced career success after attending the university include
- Artist Amalia Amaki
- Zac Brown Band musician Coy Bowles
- Grammy-nominated pianist John Burke
- Grammy-winning artist Dru Castro
- Alice in Chains lead singer William DuVall
- News anchor Douglas EdwardsA
- Actress Tamyra Gray
- Media scholar Henry Jenkins
- Actor Lance Krall
- Musician Ludacris
- Comedian Amber Nash
- Deerhunter guitarist Lockett Pundt
- Actress Julia Roberts
- Collective Soul bassist Will Turpin
- Actor Caleb Spivak.
- Five-season director for 3D animation for “Archer”, Robert Paraguassu