Columbia College Hollywood Names Dave Collins As New Dean

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Columbia College Hollywood announced this week that it has chosen film and television veteran and educator Dave Collins as its new dean.

"We are thrilled to welcome Dave Collins to the Columbia College Hollywood community.  He brings 35 years of professional experience as a top film and television producer and executive into the classroom," says Columbia College Hollywood President and CEO Bill Smith. "He is exactly who we wanted to lead the evolution of our premier college for storytellers passionate about the art and craft of film, television, new media, and the digital arts."

Collins explained that Columbia College Hollywood's strong connection to the film and television industry, in addition to real world learning, make the college stand out on the national stage.

"I am excited to work with Columbia College Hollywood's high caliber staff of educators to nurture the next generation of visual media artists. Our students deserve engagement at the highest level, not just in the classroom but also within the industry of their choice. I look forward to working with faculty and staff to create greater opportunities for students, to develop their craft, encourage their creativity, and to push them to become the innovative artists their professions need," he said.

Collins is the former chair of filmmaking at Woodbury University in Burbank. He oversaw the graduation of the university's inaugural four classes and helped the department achieve accreditation from The National Association of Schools of Art and Design and WASC Senior College and University Commission. He holds an MFA from the Peter Stark Motion Picture Producing Program at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

Collins is also an acclaimed veteran of television and film production. He served as executive producer of several films including Stealing Sinatra (Showtime), Neil Simon's The Goodbye Girl (TNT), and Comfort & Joy (Lifetime). Through his company Sunset Canyon Productions, he has also optioned the science fiction trilogy Colossus which is in development at Universal in association with Imagine Entertainment and will star Will Smith with Ron Howard directing.

Collins' television background includes serving as executive director of movies and miniseries at ABC Television where he produced dozens of projects including A Place for Annie starring Sissy Spacek, the hit miniseries Stephen King's The Tommyknockers and Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer's epic story of climbers on Mt. Everest.

Collins started in his new role Sept. 25. In coming weeks, he will attend the New Student Orientation and Faculty Development sessions as well as many other welcome events throughout campus and the wider community.

About Columbia College Hollywood

Based in Los Angeles, California in the heart of the San Fernando Valley, Columbia College Hollywood is a nonprofit, regionally accredited college that provides a hands-on education in the art and craft of film and television production. Columbia College Hollywood is committed to fostering a learning community that promotes creativity, innovation, and growth through education, collaboration, and a common love of the entertainment arts.

Columbia College Hollywood's faculty are professional producers, writers, directors, editors, cinematographers, and sound designers who collectively have logged more than 150 feature films and 2,500 hours of television programming on narrative series, reality shows, non-fiction programs, and long-form movies and miniseries.

Columbia College Hollywood faculty members have won and received nominations for prestigious entertainment industry awards, including the Oscar Award, Emmy Award, Writers Guild Award, Directors Guild Award, NAACP Image Award, The Humanitas Prize, Ohio State Award, Peabody Award, DramaLogue Award, and the Sonance Award for programming depicting stories about deaf Americans.

Visit columbiacollege.edu for more information.

Media Contact:

Cheni Vega
[email protected]

SOURCE Columbia College Hollywood

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http://www.columbiacollege.edu