November 29, 2006
S6
SUPPLEMENT
The icon: Professor introduces generations of 'SC students to film
By LUISA MONTES
Daily Trojan
Cultivating the minds of Hol-
lywood's next generation at a film
school as renowned as USC's is
no easy task, but through the
years, Drew Casper has shown
he is more than qualified for the
job.
As the Alma and Alfred Hitch-
cock Professor of American Film
in the School of Cinematic Arts,
Casper brings his love and ad-
miration for cinema to the lives
of students from all areas of the
USC community.
While movies have enchanted
Casper since a young age, his path
to USC was circuitous and un-
conventional. Casper first came
to USC to pursue his doctorate
in cinema production during his
time in the Jesuit priesthood.
After completing his degree,
Casper intended to bring his
production experience to Jesuit
institutions, such as Georgetown
University, across the country.
Everything progressed as
planned until Casper met his fu-
ture mentor, Irwin Blacker, best
known as a writer on the televi-
sion series "Bonanza."
Blacker was so impressed by
Casper's work that he offered
Casper a tenure-track position
once his doctoral degree was
completed.
The opportunity conflicted
with his priesthood plans and
left Casper in a difficult decision.
"I took a leave of absence from
the priesthood," Casper said,
"And I decided this is where I
wanted to be."
Although Casper would have
been qualified to teach as a Jesuit
priest, the position in USC's crit-
ical studies program gave him the
unique opportunity to combine
his love of film with the "ability,
grace and potential to affect lives
in a very minute way."
"I didn't set out to do that,"
Casper said. "I'm just doing my
job."
Although Casper knew stu-
dents enjoyed his class, he had
no idea students were culling
more meaningful lessons from
his curriculum.
Casper realized this only re-
cently when the cinema school
celebrated its 75th anniversary in
2004. At a celebratory banquet,
"literally hundreds of students"
lined up to talk with Casper
about how much he impacted
them.
Casper admits he might not
have remembered all of them
-- proof of the sheer numbers of
people he has impacted. Amber
Degn, who graduated with a de-
gree in cinema-television critical
studies in May, now works on
a television show and says she
regularly encounters people who
remember their interactions with
Casper.
"For anyone who went through
USC film school, he is the one
common thread in the industry;
no one forgets him," she said.
Many of Degn's memories in-
clude times she worked hard to
earn his respect. Casper responds
harshly to some students' an-
swers in class, a technique Degn
came to understand as a "test to
see how strong you are."
"I kept trying, kept raising my
hand and I got past the fear of
being criticized and just went
for it," which she said helped her
develop an attitude of persever-
ance very useful for any creative
industry.
Aside from learning to face
criticism, students remember
Casper's sheer passion for the
subject he loves most.
"It has really encouraged me
to be more passionate about cin-
ema because when someone who
is knowledgeable and passionate
and trustworthy is teaching you,
you can't help but love it," said
Amanda Maynard, a senior ma-
joring in broadcast journalism
and minoring in cinema-televi-
sion critical studies.
Casper's influence extends be-
yond the classroom through his
work on DVD commentaries
and books. A book scheduled for
a March release focuses on post-
war Hollywood and gives Casper
a chance to "take the classroom
out to the world."
In spite of all these new proj-
ects and opportunities, Casper
maintains all of his "perspiration
and love is in the classroom." In
showing students classic films
such as "Pillow Talk" or, his per-
sonal favorite, "A Place in the
Sun," Casper hopes to help them
return to an era of higher quality
filmmaking.
"I want to teach them not only
technique, but the old values of
the films so they may resurrect
them in their own picture-mak-
ing," he said.
Drew Casper is many things
to many people: an expert, a
teacher, but perhaps most im-
portantly, an unforgettably sup-
portive influence.
"It's a tough industry with a
high failure rate, so a lot of fami-
lies think that movies don't mat-
ter," Degn said. "But he makes
you feel like you're doing some-
thing important."
Courtesy of Phil Channing
At the helm of
'SC academics
c.L. MAX NIKIAS
By ZACHARY FRANKLIN
Daily Trojan
For someone whose official title technically
puts him second in command at USC, Provost
and Senior Vice President C.L. Max Nikias' job
description would make you think otherwise.
As USC's chief academic officer and the sec-
ond-ranking officer under President Steven B.
Sample, Nikias is responsible for maintaining
communication with all the university's deans,
as well as the divisions of Student Affairs, In-
formation Services and Enrollment Services.
He also serves with the senior vice president for
administration as the chief operating officer of
the university.
Nikias had served as dean of the Viterbi
School of Engineering since 2001 before he ac-
cepted the provost position in 2005. As dean of
the Viterbi School, Nikias was instrumental in
making the Viterbi School a "research power-
house," consistently ranking among the top 10
engineering schools in the nation.
Nikias was also the founding director of two
national research centers at USC while dean:
the National Science Foundation Engineering
Research Center Integrated Media Systems
Center and the Department of Defense Center
on Communications Signal Processing.
Nikias has authored more than 100 peer-re-
viewed journal articles, 180 referred conference
papers, three textbooks and eight patents. Ni-
kias has also received numerous awards and
honors for his research and teaching.
A native of Cyprus, Nikias graduated with
honors from the Famagusta Gymnasium, re-
ceived a diploma from the National Technical
University of Athens and earned a master's and
Ph.D. from the University at Buffalo.
DREw cASPER
By PHILIANA NG
Daily Trojan
Every home-game Saturday inside a packed Los An-
geles Coliseum, Art Bartner, the general of one of the
most recognized bands in the country, directs the Trojan
Marching Band with animated movements of his arms
without pause, the fight song and the student favorite
"booty shake" song encompassing the entire stadium.
Bartner yells and barks, his distinctly hoarse voice
heard from well across the Coliseum. Bartner's innate
ability to capture the electricity in the air drives him to
the top of the list of influential people in the USC com-
munity.
As a member of the Trojan Family for almost 40
years, Art Bartner has contributed to the Spirit of Troy
in a way only an elite group can say it has. Mark San-
tos, a graduate student studying music education and
a trombone teaching assistant, believes that Bartner is
the Spirit of Troy.
"Bartner is the Spirit of Troy itself because, as much
as the band is an element, we would not be the way we
are without Bartner," he said. "He's brought so much to
the program, some amazing musicians, and has, in part,
embodied it."
Samantha Ancona, a freshman majoring in music
performance and an alto saxophone player in the Spirit
of Troy, has heard stories about Bartner's early days
from her father, who was a member of the marching
band in the '70s. Apparently, not much has changed.
"He has been an enormous part of the Trojan spirit
for such a long time," Ancona said. "He was instrumen-
tal in bringing the band and the football team closer
than they are at any other university.'"
THE FIELD
GENERAL
ART BARTNER
cORLISS
spending three years in Admis-
sion & Financial Aid.
"It was my hope to make this
kind of your hub away from
home," Bennett said. "I didn't
even feel welcome here (while
working in admissions), and I
was staff."
Bennett also reworked CBC-
SA's entire set of programming.
She reorganized Black Gradua-
tion and Black Family Weekend,
transformed "The African Amer-
ican Resource Handbook" from a
stapled paper to a sleek, profes-
sional booklet and revamped its
Web site.
At work, where she stays until
6 or 7 p.m., Bennett focuses on
her four main action verbs: at-
tract, recruit, retain and graduate
black students.
"She's a presence," Ebner said.
"People know the name `Corliss'
who don't even know what CBC-
SA stands for."
Bennett has faced her share of
adversity. Neither of her parents
is college-educated, although her
mother did attend community
college. College counselors said
her scores were too low for col-
lege admissions and that she
wasn't their target student. Ben-
nett didn't care; she applied and
was accepted to UC Riverside,
where she received a bachelor's in
liberal studies with an emphasis
in sociology and education.
Bennett earned her master's in
international cultural education
at the University of San Fran-
cisco. She is now working on her
doctorate at the Rossier School
of Education.
The demands of running an of-
fice of this size at a school such as
USC while simultaneously work-
ing toward a degree are daunting.
But Bennett, more than anyone,
knows how important it is that
she be available for her students.
"I know as a first-generation
college grad, someone was a Corl-
iss for me," she said. "I know the
importance of being a Corliss."
| continued from page S4 |
Steevens Alconcel | Daily Trojan
Courtesy of Corliss Bennett