HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- The University of Southern Mississippi’s film program will move from Hattiesburg to the university’s Gulf Coast Student Service Center in Gulfport in August 2007, the first step in the university’s overall plan to build a full-scale academic program in entertainment industry studies on the coast.
 
The relocation of the film program and the creation of an Entertainment Industry Center are designed to capitalize on the state’s efforts to attract the entertainment industry to the coast, according to Denise von Herrmann, dean of the College of Arts and Letters.

“The film program’s move is the first step toward the creation of an academic center that will prepare students for work in the entertainment industry,” von Herrmann said. “We hope to attract some major support from the industry as part of the coast’s rebirth.”

Initial plans to relocate the film program in August 2006 were postponed after Hurricane Katrina.

“We feel like this move will lead to great opportunities for film students,” said Dixon McDowell, a film professor and director of the film program.  “It will also create opportunities for the program and the university to partner with the entertainment and casino industries.”

McDowell said that most of the film students currently in the program are eager to be a part of the program during its transition to the coast.  “The vast majority of our students are happy to be going to an area that’s rebuilding and will be a hub of a thriving entertainment industry,” he said. 

Film students generally complete their major in a two-year sequence of courses that includes cinematography, editing, scriptwriting, film theory and film history. “Film students who still want to spend their first two years on the Hattiesburg campus will be able to do that, then move to the Coast and complete their degree over the final two years,” McDowell said. 
  

The program will initially be housed in a fully restored and refurbished building at the Gulf Coast Student Service Center in Gulfport, where Southern Miss moved its Gulf Coast operations after Hurricane Katrina damaged its Gulf Park campus in Long Beach. 

“The building will work very well to house our production equipment,” McDowell said.  “There’s going to be a very nice space for film production courses, actually better than anything we’ve had in Hattiesburg.”

A new academic undergraduate major in entertainment industries, introduced on the Hattiesburg campus last fall, will join the film program on the coast once a new facility is built, von Herrmann said.

“The plan is to build a state-of-the-art facility on the Gulf Park  campus,” she said.  “That will require some significant resources, and we’ll be pursuing industry partnerships to help with that.”

Pat Joachim, associate provost of Southern Miss Gulf Coast, said the Entertainment Industry Center will be a welcome addition to the many academic programs currently offered on the coast, which include tourism management along with traditional programs in the humanities and social sciences.  “We think the film and entertainment industry majors will be among the most popular we offer,” she said.

The film program is currently part of the School of Mass Communication and Journalism in Hattiesburg.  Chris Campbell, the school’s director, said the school also offers a master’s degree in public relations on the Gulf Coast, and that the university intends to develop a new undergraduate degree in communications for students there.

“As the coast rebuilds, Southern Miss is going to be located in an important media market.  That will present wide ranging opportunities for a lot of students interested in careers in mass communication, journalism, film and entertainment,” Campbell said.

About The University of Southern Mississippi
The University of Southern Mississippi, founded in 1910, is a comprehensive doctoral and research-extensive university fulfilling its mission of being a leading university in engaging and empowering individuals to transform lives and communities.  In a tradition of leadership for student development, Southern Miss is educating a 21st century work force providing intellectual capital, cultural enrichment and innovation to Mississippi and the world.  Southern Miss is located in Hattiesburg, Miss., with an additional campus and teaching and research sites on the Mississippi Gulf Coast; further information is found at www.usm.edu.