The next two years will see major advances in the field of broadcasting as the industry addresses the national conversion from analog to digital television in compliance with federal mandates. As stations work to meet the 2009 Federal Communications Commission deadline, the need to train, and retrain, the industry’s technical workforce is critical.
Responding to this urgent need, BMCC has received a three-year, $900,000 Advanced Technological Education Grant from the National Science Foundation to develop a comprehensive digital media program to educate and train high school and college students, high school and college faculty, professionals already in the industry, and those who aspire to such a career.
The grant, which is the only NSF grant awarded this year geared specifically for digital video education, capitalizes on BMCC’s expertise in the various areas of advanced technological education and specifically its quarter-century in teaching video arts and technology. Indeed, BMCC is the only school in the vast City University of New York system with a high-definition studio and the only one with a high-definition TV data network, and is one of a select few colleges in the country where students can graduate with a degree in digital video and audio production.
A specific focus of the grant will be to design and implement a professional training program for women and minorities, both under-represented groups in the industry. Moreover, the breadth of the entire grant goes beyond professional courses and even attempts to work with high school students to address the wider issue of under-representation.
“We are pleased and privileged to be awarded this National Science Foundation grant,” said Dr. Antonio Pérez, BMCC President. “New media technologies are being introduced at an unprecedented speed, which will continue as the industry converts from analog to digital.Higher educational institutions have a responsibility to educate and train a knowledgeable and skilled workforce to keep pace with these changes. And we at BMCC, as one of the nation’s top community colleges for graduating minorities and women, have a special obligation to work at diversifying this workforce.”
The NSF grant to BMCC will be used to:
- Design and implement a pilot academic program in video technology that begins in high schools, continues with BMCC’s already flourishing Video Arts and Technology (VAT) program, and coordinates with participating four-year colleges.
- Revise existing VAT courses and create new ones that prepare non-traditional students for employment in digital/ high-definition film and television fields.
- Design and implement a professional training program for working media professionals in digital media technology, including members of unions, trade organizations, and groups serving women and minorities.
- Design and implement a professional development program for high school and college faculty in digital media technology.
Shari R. Mekenon, Assistant Professor in the VAT Program and principal investigator for the NSF grant says, “We’re very proud to be able to serve our students as well as educators and film and video professionals. This is an extraordinary opportunity for the VAT Program to establish a national model in digital video education, and to help broaden the access of women and minorities to this industry. The grant enables us to serve these constituencies not only during the life of the grant, but for many years to come.”
BMCC has already implemented several initiatives, including “BMCC On Air,” a magazine format digital TV program produced and created by BMCC students, a summer college credit bearing course for high school students and a summer workshop introducing high school and college faculty to new video technologies and how to use them in the classroom. The College also co-sponsored with the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, a summer showcase for manufacturers of the latest digital video editing technology, and educational, non-profit and professional organizations.
The grant has also funded a Peer Academic Advisors program in which top VAT students serve as tutors for other students in the program.
In addition, the VAT Program is developing professional certification and academic programs for adult students in conjunction with its own Center for Continuing Education and Workforce Development and the Center for Worker Education at City College.
BMCC has offered students a dynamic hands-on education in its VAT degree program since 1982. Students learn from a faculty comprised of industry professionals, academicians and researchers in the College’s state-of-the-art Media Center, which includes High Definition production and post-production facilities. Students learn the entire process of creating and producing audio and video projects, covering all phases of pre-production, production, and post-production for today’s and tomorrow’s digital media industries.
Maryfe Rodriquez, a Hispanic working mother, who is majoring in Multimedia, with a concentration in video, and is also a Peer Academic Advisor, says, “Helping my peers by being a Peer Academic Advisor has given me so many experiences—to meet other people in the program and to meet students who have differing views. It has also exposed me to new technologies like high definition, especially about Avid HD (a high definition editing system).”
Maryfe adds, “I love working on ‘BMCC On Air’ and being part of something brand new. I want to help it along and let people know about it. I hope more students will take advantage of it.”
The VAT program includes traditional college-level academic coursework, as well as classes that explore the history and expressive power of media in our culture, preparing students both for transfer to four-year colleges and the competitive demands of the professional world. To this end, all VAT students complete a mandatory internship at a professional media facility, such as a broadcasting network or post-production house.
For more information on the VAT program and/or the NSF grant, visit http://socrates.bmcc.cuny.edu/nsfvat/index.html
