Director of Media X Program Appointed

Dean Rena Fraden is pleased to announce the appointment of Kevin Pontuti as the Director of Pacific's new Media X program in the College of the Pacific. Pontuti comes to Pacific from University of Wisconsin-Stout, where he has served as the Program Director for the BFA in Entertainment Design and has won multiple teaching awards, including the university's Outstanding Teaching Award, as an associate professor of Digital Cinema. He has overseen projects in entertainment and multi-media design, and has taught 2D Imaging, Digital Imaging and Cinema, Introduction to Digital Narrative and 3D Modeling and Animation.

Pontuti received his BFA from Slippery Rock University and his MFA in Studio Art from Syracuse University. He spent many years working in advertising in San Francisco before founding Studio P in Los Angeles, where he was CEO and lead artist serving advertising, fine art and entertainment clients that included Nike, Acura, Vanity Fair, Access Hollywood and others.  

As a filmmaker, Pontuti has enjoyed artistic residencies in Italy, Los Angeles and Finland, and his work has been screened at a variety of film festivals, including the Chicago International Art House Film Festival, the London Experimental Film Festival and the Contemplative Cinema Festival in Bulgaria. His work has earned national distinctions that include the Slow Film Award at the Los Angeles Underground Film Forum and the Audience Award at the Altered Esthetics Film Festival in Minneapolis.  

Pacific's Media X program launches this fall, and integrates the analysis, performance, production, marketing, and management of traditional, digital and emerging media. It is designed for students who are interested in pursuing creative combinations of coursework in subjects such as graphic design, English, business, theatre, digital and visual art, film and more. Pontuti is excited to lead this interdisciplinary program and looks forward to welcoming its first class. He will begin his appointment July 1, 2017.

Dean Fraden would like to thank the search committee for their dedication and efforts during this search process, and would like to thank Professor Courtney Lehmann in particular, not only for leading the search but for serving as interim director during the program's development.