MEDIA STUDIES Faculty biographies

Charlotte Belland, media studies assistant professor, is a motion-performance artist. Her professional expertise is in animation and cinematography. Her work involves the process of puppetry and motion capture as applied to character animation and development. She has presented work at the Game Developers Conference and SIGGRAPH, both in Sketches|Applications and as part of a course. Ms. Belland earned a BFA from CCAD and an MFA in computer animation from The Ohio State University.

John Fergus-Jean, media studies associate professor, teaches media studies seminar, photographic history, and photography production courses. His professional experience includes serving as an art consultant, museum curator, university and private art gallery director, and artist. He has received state and national grants for his work, and his writings on photography have been published in newspapers, museum catalogs, and in the Focal Encyclopedia of Photography. He has organized more than 50 art exhibitions for museums and universities, and presented more than 30 lectures on photography, cultural awareness, and visual literacy. He received an AB from Indiana University and an MFA from Rochester Institute of Technology.

Sheldon Gleisser, media studies adjunct instructor, is a filmmaker whose films have won numerous awards, including first place in the Cleveland International Film Festival’s “FilmOhio” competition and the Central Florida Film Festival. His works have also been selected for inclusion in the Northern Kentucky Film and Video Festival, Atlanta Fantasy Fair, Columbus International Film & Video Festival, and the Wexner Center for the Arts’ Ohio Short Film & Video Showcase. His play, Version 2.0, was included in the Contemporary American Theatre Company’s “Shorts Festival 2002.”

Dan Grose, media studies instructor, teaches photography and is the media studies lab manager. He graduated from CCAD with a BFA in 1992 and received his MFA in photography from Ohio University in 1994, where he later taught studio photography. He has exhibited his work locally at ACME Art Company, the Ohio State Fair, and MPX Gallery.

Hiroshi Hayakawa, media studies assistant professor, teaches photography, materials studies, and foundation drawing. Mr. Hayakawa has a BA in French Literature from Keio University in Tokyo, Japan. He received a BFA from CCAD in photography and an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art. Mr. Hayakawa’s artwork is represented by Gallery V in Columbus. Mr. Hayakawa is a recipient of a 2002 Ohio Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship.

Helen Hoffelt, media studies assistant professor, has had work in three solo exhibitions and in numerous group exhibitions across the country. Her efforts have been supported by a grant from the Mark Diamond Research Fund. She earned a BFA in illustration and photography from CCAD and an MFA in Photography from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Prior to returning to CCAD, Ms. Hoffelt served on the faculty of Montana State University.

Eric Homan, media studies instructor, teaches computer animation and video. He has received several international awards for his artwork, including a Telly Award in 2001 for his computer animation piece “Life Forms.” He specializes in digital video, 3D animation, digital compositing, interactive art, and sound design. He earned a BFA degree from CCAD and received his MFA in computer arts at Florida Atlantic University.

Michelle Lach, media studies assistant professor, uses the languages of painting, drawing, and sculpture, coupled with electronic media to design her interactive, multi-media pieces. Her latest piece, inspired by Ovid’s Metamorphoses creates a narrative of human transformation in the modern world. Her work has been exhibited in Sala de Exposiciones CAM, Alicante, Spain, Centro de Cultura Contemporanea, Barcelona, Spain; Triennale di Milano, Milan, Italy; Circulo de Belles Artres, Madrid, Spain; Prix Ars Electronica, Linz, Austria; and Visual Arts Museum, New York, NY. SIGGRAPH, New Orleans. She received an MFA from The Ohio State University.

Kon Petrochuk, media studies professor, teaches film, video, photography, and digital video. He has screened work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, the Cinematheque in San Francisco, and the Contemporary Media Center in Dayton. His major projects include If I Scratch, If I Write, a 16mm film about Cleveland poet, d.a. levy, and Two Unknown Photographers, which screened at the Sundance Film Festival and Maryland Film Festival. Mr. Petrochuk received an MA in film from Kent State University and an MFA in conceptual design from San Francisco State University.

Richard Petry, dean of media studies, studied photography with William Larson at the Tyler School of Art, where he received his MFA. In addition to his work in commercial and fine art still photography, he has explored film, performance, and sculpture. He is a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, Ohio Arts Council Fellowship, and a Greater Columbus Arts Council Individual Artist Grant. He has exhibited throughout the U.S. as well as in Europe and India. His images are part of the permanent collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Columbus Museum of Art, The Ohio State University, and numerous private and corporate collections.

Tracy Robbins, media studies assistant professor, teaches interactive design, digital imaging, experimental animation, and time-based media design (storyboarding). She earned a BFA in painting from the Art Academy of Cincinnati and an MFA in electronic arts from the University of Cincinnati. Ms. Robbins has been awarded several grants and has exhibited her work both nationally and internationally. Her CD-ROM-based art has been published for The European Media Arts Festival and SIGGRAPH. She has been an artist-in-residence in the Ohio Arts Council’s Art in Education program, collaborating with school children throughout Ohio.

Ron Saks, media studies professor, is the chair of the time-based media studies department and teaches time-based media design, animation, computer animation, film, portfolio, history of documentary cinema, and computer graphics. Mr. Saks has 20 years of experience in animation, special-effects animation, and computer animation for film and television. In addition to producing his own independent projects, he has worked on major theatrical releases such as Time After Time, Star Trek: The Movie, and Resurrection, as well as numerous television programs and commercials. Before coming to CCAD in 1988, he worked for Universal Studios and Cranston-Csuri Productions. He received his BFA from UCLA in fine art and an MFA from UCLA in theater arts/film animation.

Duncan J. Snyder, media studies associate professor, is chair of the still-based media studies department and teaches photography, art and technology, digital imaging, studio photography, photo projects, and landscape photography. He is also a member of the Fine Arts Thesis Committee. He received his MFA at Maryland Institute College of Art and BFA from CCAD. Mr. Snyder has received individual artist grants from the Greater Columbus Arts Council and the Ohio Arts Council. He has served as a board member of ACME Art Company and is on the Upper Arlington Cultural Arts Commission. He participates in many philanthropic organizations including Columbus AIDS Task Force and Appalachia Service Project.

Zac Welch, media studies adjunct instructor, teaches interactive/time-based design. He has an MFA from Parsons School of Design in design and technology. Mr. Welch’s work includes roles as producer for CompuServe’s CD-ROM magazine, senior designer for Playboy.com, visual effects artist for Spike Lee’s 40 Acres and a Mule Productions and creative director of Ezz-Thetic Media. He has also served as featured designer for the Columbus Cultural Arts Center, The New York Center for New Design, and the indie film collective, Reel Independents. He wrote, directed, and produced an independent film, Blood and Ashes, which was shown in New York City in 2001.

Nancy Wride, media studies assistant professor, teaches photography, art and technology, digital imaging, photo projects, and documentary photography. She has worked as a designer in advertising and design studios as well as a freelance photographer and artist. Ms. Wride earned BFA degrees in photography and graphic design from Utah State University and an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art. She exhibits her artwork nationally and is represented by Gallery V in Columbus. Ms. Wride has also traveled to Jamire, Nepal, with choiceHUMANITARIAN, a nonprofit organization located in Salt Lake City, Utah, as the official expedition photographer.