Committee considers film studies minor

A new minor is being considered by the Academic Planning Committee in film and visual media. The process of evaluating a newly recognized minor is lengthy and the outcome is uncertain.

A proposal has been submitted to an ad hoc committee to recognize Film and Visual Media Studies as an academic minor. The proposal will then be reviewed by committee members and re-formatted for faculty consideration.

This proposal was constructed in April by the ad hoc committee to form the minor. Professor of English Peter Scholl helped author the proposal.

“We have several faculty members on the committee board for the proposal,” Scholl said. “We had several meetings in which we drafted many proposals which were sent to the dean of the college, where he gave comments and adjusted it.”

The committee finished their final draft of the proposal April 24 and it is now in the hands of the Academic Planning Committee. Their job is to study the proposal and make recommendations after considering the needs of all involved.

“It will go to a faculty meeting eventually if it gets that far and the faculty will vote to approve it or not and at this point it will be altered again, but we just don’t know,” Scholl said.

A Film and Visual Media Studies minor would compliment many majors for students interested in film and because it is “interdisciplinary” and doesn’t require its own department.

“It would be governed by a committee made up of people from different majors,” Scholl said. “It wouldn’t add faculty to any department and it wouldn’t be a large part of the budget for a particular department.”

Considering the tough economic state, money is not a major concern if this proposal follows through.

“When I was contacted by Loyal Rue about this proposal, we determined that we had enough resources on campus to make a minor possible without adding extra expenses because these days it’s hard to add anything with the economic conditions as they are,” Scholl said.

Having a film program at Luther adds educational diversity and helps it compete with schools such as Colorado College, Carelton, St. Olaf and Gustavus.

“We looked at the colleges that we generally compare ourselves to and looked at the programs that they offered,” Scholl said. “Most of them have a major or minor in film or are exploring the possibility of adding one.”

Luther faculty and students have to wait for the proposal’s outcome for now, but student input is encouraged.

“We need to know if we are creating something that students are into and gage student responses,” Scholl said. “Anyone interested is encouraged to contact Loyal Rue if they feel strongly about this proposal.”