EDITORIAL
Creative Media program big boost for university

An exciting new window has opened at the University of Hawai'i with the Board of Regents' approval of what will be called "The Academy for Creative Media."

This is an evolved version of what was originally going to be a film school, headed by Hawai'i native and Hollywood veteran Chris Lee.

But under Lee's leadership, the concept has evolved into a multimedia school that will teach everything from television and video production through computer animation and film production and storytelling.

What is particularly exciting about the program is that it will be the first to fully link the students (and academic capabilities) of the entire University of Hawai'i system. Through computer interaction and high-tech connections, students will be able to draw on the facilities and expertise of instructors and programs at any of the system's 10 campuses.

It will be, literally, a virtual program, running 24 hours a day throughout the state.

While Lee hopes one day to have a physical home for the program (perhaps at the old Diamond Head studio), it will be in reality a program in cyberspace.

The UH system has the potential to be far more than the sum of its parts. This new Creative Media program will help demonstrate this truth.