Core Faculty
Robert Arellano
EMDA Professor
MFA, Brown University, 1994; BA, Brown University, 1991
Professor Arellano teaches courses in Design, Production, and Writing. A founding director of the EMDA program, Professor Arellano is also a musician and author. His literary production includes pioneering work in electronic publishing, graphic-novel editions, and five other novels.
Office: Art Building 111
Phone: 541.552.8146
E-Mail: arellanor@sou.edu
David Bithell
Professor, Program Chair
PhD, University of California, Berkeley; BA, University of California, San Diego
Professor Bithell teaches courses in interdisciplinary arts and technology, including digital audio and music composition, robotic art, and programming for artists. As an interdisciplinary composer, artist, and performer exploring the connections between visual art, music, theater, and performance, Bithell utilizes new technologies and real-time interactive environments to bring the precision and structure of contemporary music and audio practices together with an understanding of performance, narrative, and humor drawn from recent theater, live cinema, and performance art. His works have been presented at major venues in the United States, Europe, and Asia and been supported by grants and commissions from Meet the Composer Commissioning Music / USA, the American Composerʼs Forum, the Ammerman Center for Arts and Technology, and the President’s Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity Fund at SOU.
Office: Art Building 109
Phone: 541.552.7033
E-Mail: bithelld@sou.edu
Miles Inada
EMDA Professor
MFA, University of Cincinnati, 1996; BFA, University of Oregon, 1993; BA, Yale University, 1988
Professor Inada teaches courses in 2D and 3D animation, comics and picture books, and digital design at Southern Oregon University. His animated work has won awards at the Atlanta Film Festival, Riverrun International Film Festival, Berkeley Video Festival, Rochester International Film Festival, and Film Fest New Haven, and has been seen at the Tribeca Film Festival, San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, and Ausstellungsraum Klingetal in Basel Switzerland, among other venues.
Office: Art Building 107
Phone: 541.552.6058
E-Mail: minada@sou.edu
Affiliated Faculty
Andrew Gay
Assistant Professor
Andrew Gay teaches creative entrepreneurship and digital cinema. He has written, directed and produced both fiction and documentary films. His research in Lean Screenwriting applies start-up principles to contemporary film production, and he has recently instructed a Virtual Reality film class.
Office: Britt 243
Phone: 541.552.6669
E-Mail: gaya@sou.edu
Randolph Jones
Instructor
Randolph has worked extensively as a developer, designer, animator, and production artist since 2004. He is currently the Digital Content Manager at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) where he develops and designs eCommerce interfaces and content for OSF Ashland. Prior to joining OSF, he worked as a Multimedia Design Engineer at Lockheed Martin. Randolph has taught several EMDA courses over the years including The Art of Data, Responsive Web Design, and Motion Graphics.
Office: Art Building 120
Phone: 541.552.8325
E-Mail: jonesr2@sou.edu
Erika Leppmann
Professor
MFA, University of New Mexico; BFA, University of Oregon
Professor Leppmann teaches courses in photography, video, and installation. Her photo-based work and installations address ideas of place, identity and the mutable discipline of photography. Leppmann’s work has been shown in numerous one-person and group exhibitions in the United States and Mexico. She has been awarded Individual Artist Fellowships from the Ohio Arts Council, Indiana Arts Commission, and the N.E.A./Arts Midwest; and exhibition support from the Minnesota State Arts Board. Professor Leppmann worked in Iceland with support from a Senior Scholar Award from the Fulbright Program and the American-Scandinavian Foundation. She has completed Artist Residencies at The McDowell Colony, the Bemis Foundation, Albion College and The Ohio State University.
Office: Art Building 117
Phone: 541.552.6565
E-Mail: leppmane@sou.edu
Nick Oredson
Instructor
BFA, Theatre Arts, Directing Concentration, Southern Oregon University
Nick has had a wide variety of professional experience in traditional and emerging media fields for 2 decades. This included working as an off-broadway stage manager, years as a freelance web developer and 4 years as the production manager for the TIME Magazine website in New York. He has taught EMDA 201 – Digital Image Foundations, EMDA 203 – Digital Interactive Foundations, EMDA 204 Digital Audio Foundations and EMDA 350 – Projects in Digital Media. Nick loves working with young people, sharing his broad experience and helping them connect with their life’s passion.
Office: Art Building 117
Phone: 541.552.6690
E-Mail: oredsonn@sou.edu
Erik Palmer
Assistant Professor
Erik Palmer teaches social media and visual communication. His latest research explores the impact of social photography on the practice of professional media photography.
Office: Britt 242
Phone: 541.552.6880
E-Mail: palmere@sou.edu
Sasha Timen
Instructor
BS Art and Graphic Design, Southern Oregon University
Sasha is a freelance graphic designer and adjunct professor teaching Graphic Design Methods in the Emerging Media Digital Arts. Bringing real-world graphic design issues into the classroom she focuses on creative problem solving, technique, and how personality affects the designer. She is currently pursuing her Master of Arts in Teaching at Southern Oregon University. When Sasha isn’t working on client projects or homework you will most likely find her painting or enjoying coffee with friends.
Office: Art Building 115
Phone: 541.552.6690
E-Mail: timens@sou.edu
Gwenne Wilcox
Instructor
An alumnus of Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA., Gwenne has earned national and international awards for her creative direction in advertising and design, first on Madison Avenue in New York and, later, in San Francisco, Seattle, and Los Angeles. Her company, Rock, Paper, Scissors Branding, provides digital marketing services.
Office: Art Building 120
E-Mail: wilcoxg@sou.edu
Precious Yamaguchi
Assistant Professor
Precious Yamaguchi teaches intercultural communication and new media, with a special emphasis on videogame production and culture. Her book on the Japanese American internment was published in 2014.
Office: Britt 256
Phone: 541.552.6241
E-Mail: yamaguchp@sou.edu
Staff
Karen Bolda
Student Success Coordinator
MA, Psychology, San Diego State University; BS, Psychology, University of Illinois
As the Student Success Coordinator for the Oregon Center for the Arts, Karen assists students with their transition to the university, advises on the general education courses needed, aligns student’s career goals with their academic majors, and helps create academic plans to plan for graduation. She can help navigate the general education requirements for SOU, answer general questions about the major, and guide students to resources to help them to be successful. Karen has lived in Ashland for over 20 years. She spends much of her free time with the Curtain Climbers, a local Aerial Dance Company.
Office (M,T,R, F): Art Building, 118
Office (W): Theater Building, 155 (Walk-in Wednesdays!)
Phone: 541.552.6735
E-Mail: boldak@sou.edu
David Humphrey
Director of the Oregon Center for the Arts at Southern Oregon University
BME and Certificate, Flute, Florida State University, MME and Master’s, Educational Administration, Florida State University, PhD in Opera Production/Music Education, Florida State University
Dr. Humphrey has served in leadership and consulting roles at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, The Metropolitan Opera, National Endowment for the Arts, New York City Opera, Corcoran Museum of Art, Museum of Performance & Design, California Center for the Arts in Escondido, and Washington Bach Consort.
Office: Music Building 142
Phone: 541.552.6522
E-Mail: humphred2@sou.edu
Robin Strangfeld
Professor of Art
MFA, Rhode Island School of Design, 2006; BFA, New York State College of Ceramics, Alfred University, 1999
Professor Strangfeld teaches courses in Ceramics, Spatial Studies, and Art Foundations at SOU. She is a ceramic sculptor whose work has been exhibited at Pottery Northwest, Red Lodge Clay Center, Wayne State University, and Taipei County Yingge Ceramics Museum.
Office: Art Building 114
Phone: 541.552.6385
E-Mail: strangfer@sou.edu
Sage TeBeest
Creative Arts Program Assistant
BA, IT & Web Development, DeVry University
The Creative Arts Program Assistant will work closely with students, faculty, OCA Student Success Coordinator, visiting artists / scholars, campus personnel, various campus groups, prospective students, school groups, and the larger Southern Oregon community. We seek someone who can coordinate the marketing of CA programs utilizing University resources; University and OCA Newsletters, website and Social Media, as well as creatively adopt new opportunities and technologies. Creative Arts is firmly committed to providing excellent education and practical experiences, offering support to a diverse student population in Art and Art history, Emerging Media and Digital Arts (EMDA), and Creative Writing. Creative Arts works closely with the OCA Student Success Coordinator in retention and recruitment events. Sage worked for CivicPlus developing government websites, both state and local, including several in Oregon. She most recently worked as the Web Manager and Communications Coordinator for three departments within Kansas State University.
Office: Art Building, 117
Phone: 541.552.6387
E-Mail: tebeests@sou.edu
Contact the EMDA Program
Emerging Media/Digital Arts
1250 Siskiyou Blvd.
Ashland, OR 97520
541.552.6387
– Questions About EMDA? –