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
Sam Hayes-Hicks
Assistant Professor
MFA, Pacific Northwest College of Art in Applied Craft & Design
Sam is an experiential designer that specializes in digital design, 3D design and augmented reality. They have worked with a wide breadth of clients and bring extensive studio knowledge and excitement for emerging technology to the classroom. Their biggest focus in the studio is on designing for inclusion so we can help create a better world for those that come next.
Office: Art Building 115
Phone: 541.552.6387
E-Mail: hayeshics@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
Steven Boswell
Adjunct Faculty
Steve Boswell is the Managing Director for Fjord and Accenture Interactive Design in the western USA where he collaborates with the design and delivery teams to build products and services that delight clients and users alike. His client experience includes doing large scale transformation work with experiential leaders like Carnival Cruise Lines, Disney Parks and Resorts, Golden State Warriors, Nike, Paypal/Venmo, and the State of California.
Office: Art Building 120
Phone: TBD
E-Mail: baswells@sou.edu
Ahri Golden
Adjunct Faculty
Media Midwife, Ahri Golden, is an award-winning artist + producer, podcast coach + professor + a mother of two informed by a passion for making meaning through stories and creative response to the world that is unfolding within and around us. She has worked at the convergence of sound and story for over 20 years, with NPR, Public Radio International, Public Radio Exchange, Slate, and Salon. Golden co-created Shades of Gray, a public radio documentary about the many sides of the abortion debate, which won The Golden Reel Award for Best National Radio Documentary.
Office: Art Building 120
Phone: TBD
E-Mail: goldena@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
Adjunct Faculty
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
Sean O’Skea
Professor – Scenic Design
MFA, Scenic Design, University of Portland; Masters, Historic Preservation, Ball State University; BA, Theatre, University of Portland
Sean is the author of “Painting for Performance” Focal Press; he is a frequent contributor to Dramatics and Teaching Theatre magazine. He is also a Freelance Designer with 3rd Rail Rep and Broadway Rose Musical Theatre Company.
Office: THTR 215
Phone: 541.552.6688
E-Mail: oskeas@sou.edu
Erik Palmer
Associate Professor – Program Coordinator of Social Media & Journalism
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
Precious Yamaguchi
Associate 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
Andrew Kenneth Gay
Director of the School of Arts & Communication and the Oregon Center for the Arts and Professor of Digital Cinema
MFA, Entrepreneurial Digital Cinema, University of Central Florida, 2010; BFA, Film Production, University of Central Florida, 2006; BA, English & Philosophy/Religion, Flagler College, 2003
Andrew Kenneth Gay (he/him) leads the School of Arts & Communication and the Oregon Center for the Arts as director and is a tenured professor of Digital Cinema, where he teaches storytelling, career development, and film production management. He received SOU’s Distinguished Teaching Award in 2021 and the University Film & Video Association’s National Award for Teaching Excellence in 2022. Before becoming a full-time educator, Andrew worked as a freelance production coordinator, production manager, and assistant director in commercials, reality television, and independent film, and for such companies as Red Bull, Discovery, and Disney. He has written, directed, and produced for both fiction and documentary media and has served as board president of Film Southern Oregon, on the board of the Oregon Media Production Association, as a programmer for the Ashland Independent Film Festival, and serves on the Teaching Committee for EDIT Media (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Teaching Media) and on the board of the University Film & Video Association.
Office: Britt 140
Phone: 541.552.6669
E-Mail: Andrew.Gay@sou.edu
Sage TeBeest
Creative Arts Program Assistant
BA, IT & Web Development, DeVry University
Sage has a BA in Information Technology with an emphasis in web development and graphic design. She worked for CivicPlus developing state, county, and local government websites across the United States, Canada and Australia. Her previous position was in the Department of Agriculture at Kansas State University as the web and communications manager.
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? –