SU’s College of Visual and Performing Arts announces named professorships for Shapiro, Ingram and Clark

SU’s College of Visual and Performing Arts announces named professorships for Shapiro, Ingram and ClarkSeptember 29, 2008Erica Blustesblust@syr.edu

Three faculty members in Syracuse University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) are new recipients of named professorships in the college.

Owen Shapiro, professor of film in the Department of Transmedia, has been named the Maurice E. Shaffer and Dorothea I. Shaffer Professor. Elizabeth Ingram, associate professor of drama in the Department of Drama, has been named the Sam S. Shubert, Lee Shubert and Milton Shubert Chair in the Theatre Arts. Gerardine Clark, professor of drama in the Department of Drama, is the Celia and Issac Heiman Professor.

“Owen, Lizzie and Geri are outstanding representatives of faculty excellence in the college,” says Ann Clarke, dean of VPA. “Their teaching expertise is complemented by a high level of professional success and an awareness of how their creative work positively affects both students and the community. I congratulate them on this achievement.”

The Shaffer Professorship was created in 1992 by the late Maurice E. Shaffer and his wife, Dorothea I. Shaffer ’33 H’90, a VPA alumna, to ensure that an in-depth study of the history of art is taught in the School of Art and Design and Department of Transmedia. Established in 1976, the Shubert Chair was created by the late Milton I. Shubert, a friend of the University. The Heiman Professorship was established in 1980 for a faculty member in the Department of Drama. Each professorship includes a research stipend.

Shapiro created the college’s undergraduate and graduate film programs in the mid-1970s and was coordinator of these programs until 2006. He now teaches and serves as artistic director of the Syracuse International Film Festival, which he created in 2004. Since 1969, he has made more than 30 films and 12 videos on a wide range of subjects in the documentary, narrative and experimental genres. He has also co-written and produced two feature films, “Session” (currently in post-production) and “Hotel Syracuse” (currently in production). His latest personal work, “Rain and a Woman” (2005), is an experimental video exploring women in domestic and public spaces. His films have been in festivals in England, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Israel, Scotland and the United States. He has won numerous awards, including a Chancellor’s Citation from SU in 2006 and a Fulbright Fellowship in 1987. He is also associate editor of Point of Contact, an international journal on the verbal and visual arts, and is the author of numerous film theory articles. He holds an M.F.A. from Brooklyn College.

Ingram joined the Department of Drama in 1989 and teaches acting, scene study and voice/verse, and directs departmental productions. In 1992, she founded the award-winning Young Actors Theater Group, a student-run troupe for young people from the Syracuse community who have special needs, mainly Down’s syndrome. She is also actively involved in the department’s presence in London through SU Abroad. A professional actor, she has performed internationally, including in England and Hong Kong, as well as on British television. She appears regularly with Shakespeare and Company in Lenox, Mass., where her work has received awards and rave reviews. She is also a Linklater voice instructor and a trained bodywork therapist. She trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

Clark began teaching in the Department of Drama in 1982 with a focus on acting, directing, dramatic play literature, play analysis and playwriting. She has been a professional actor, director and playwright for more than 30 years. Her scholarly publications include “Contesting the Boundaries of Liberal and Professional Education,” “Practical Poetics” and “Unnatural Acts.” Her original plays, adaptations and translations include “The Final Adventures of Don Juan,” “A Christmas Carol” and “The Wind in the Willows,” which was commissioned by Syracuse Stage and directed by Clark at the New Victory Theatre in New York City. She has received an Eli Lilly Fellowship, an Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship and a Gateway Fellowship, and is a Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor for Teaching Excellence at SU. She holds a Ph.D. from Indiana University and is a founding member of the Indiana Repertory Theatre.

VPA is the creative center of Syracuse University. The college comprises five areas: the School of Art and Design; the Department of Communication and Rhetorical Studies; the Department of Drama; the Rose, Jules R. and Stanford S. Setnor School of Music; and the Department of Transmedia. Together, students, faculty and staff play a vital role in the academic and cultural life of the University and Syracuse communities. Learn more about the college at http://vpa.syr.edu.