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photo credit, Mary Lou Chlipala
Congratulations, Screen Arts & Cultures Graduating Class of 2016!
GRADUATION IN REVIEW
Screen Arts & Cultures honored their 2016 majors and Global Media Studies minors at a reception on Friday, April 29, at the Michigan Union Rogel Ballroom. Over 350 people attended, including students, their families and friends, and the SAC faculty and staff. Department Chair Caryl Flinn welcomed everyone to the reception and recognized the diversity and talents of our graduates before awarding a posthumous honorary degree to Benjamin Moray; Director of Screenwriting Jim Burnstein followed, delivering heartfelt remarks in which he detailed the wide range of our students' accomplishments and achievements while informing parents of the far-reaching benefits of a Screen Arts & Cultures degree. With its emphasis on critical thinking and creativity and its unique blend of studies and practice, Burnstein assured, such an education will have a significant impact as students move forward to mold our 21st century global society. SAC Honors Cohort Kristen Batko, Joe Biglin, Andrew Day, Chloe Gilke, and Nisreen Salka then spoke about the personal impact of their SAC education, highlighting how it has helped to shape both their identities and their future goals. The reception closed with a recognition of  the graduates and a final class photo by Assistant to the Chair, Mary Lou Chlipala.
 
Congratulations to all of you, class of 2016. Please know that you will be missed, and we hope that you will stay in touch. 
photo credit, Mary Lou Chlipala
(Top, from left to right) SAC Honors Cohort Nisreen Salka, Joe Biglin, Andrew Day, Kristen Batko, and Chloe Gilke address the audience; (middle) McKenna Cartwright and Hannah Noel welcome graduates to the reception, and Department Chair Caryl Flinn congratulates SAC major Alan Osinoff; (bottom) Director of Screenwriting Jim Burnstein praises our students' accomplishments in his speech, and students who worked on the SAC 423 film The Dejects gather for a group photo. 
For more pictures of graduation, please visit our Graduation 2016 Photo Gallery on the SAC website.
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT - JOE REED
The recent viral video "#MoreThanMean - Women in Sports Face Harassment" was co-produced by SAC alumnus Joe Reed. The video features real men reading real comments made about sports reporters Sarah Spain and Julie DiCaro – to their faces -- in an attempt to increase awareness about harassment of women in sports broadcasting. 
THIS WEEK'S FEATURED PHOTO
photo credit, Yuki Nakayama
SAC PhD alumnus Nathan Koob (left, pictured with SAC graduate student Richard Mwakasege-Minaya) was recognized at the Rackham Graduate Exercises Ceremony held at Hill Auditorium on Friday, April 29. Associate Professor Daniel Herbert and Department Chair Caryl Flinn shared the honor of hooding Dr. Koob, who is currently teaching at Oakland University in the Department of Cinema Studies. 
NEWS
Professor Amanda Lotz Publishes Article in The Conversation and Presents Paper at Conference in NYC
In her article "Poised to make its next big move, Netflix isn’t in the business you think it’s in," Professor Amanda Lotz states that for the business that "started with a red envelope," it is important (for U.S. subscribers) to note [that] the company’s next aspirations are more about the global market and becoming a global television network than growing its U.S. audience. Netflix’s ability to create original programs and simultaneously self-distribute them internationally marks a new stage of competition in media distribution." For more of Amanda Lotz's analysis of Netflix's evolving strategy, click here. 

Professor Lotz will also present her paper, "Rethinking Television: U.S. Scripted Series, the Logics of the Publishing Model, and Broadband-Distributed Portals" on Tuesday, May 3, at the 12th World Media Economics and Management Conference in New York. Hosted by the Gabeli School of Business, Fordham University, this year's conference theme is Global Media & Local Entrepreneurs.
SAC Graduate Student Richard Mwakasege-Minaya Awarded 2016-17 Goizueta Foundation Graduate Fellowship from the Cuban Heritage Collection
The Goizueta Foundation Graduate Fellowship Program provides assistance to doctoral students who wish to use the research resources available in the University of Miami Cuban Heritage Collection (CHC) in support of dissertation research. The goal of the Goizueta Foundation Graduate Fellowships is "to engage emerging scholars with the materials available in the CHC and thus contribute to the larger body of scholarship in Cuban, American, Latin@, hemispheric, and international studies." Richard Mwakasege-Minaya's research focuses on the media activism of first-wave Cuban exiles during the Cold War. He examines the ways in which Cuban exiles resisted, negotiated, and shaped media representations of Cuba, the Castro regime, and communism. Richard is interested in the ways in which Cuban exiles used media activism as a means to engage in a media war with the Cuban state. Congratulations on receiving this fellowship, Richard!
SAC Graduate Students Present Papers at Console-ng Passions Conference in June 
Katyi Lausch, Anne-Charlotte Mecklenburg, Josh Morrison, and Kaelie Thompson will be presenting their papers at the Console-ing Passions Conference at Notre Dame, June 16-18. Console-ing Passions was founded in 1989 by a group of feminist media scholars and artists looking to create a space to present work and foster scholarship on issues of television, culture, and identity, with an emphasis on gender and sexuality. The titles of our SAC graduate students' papers follow: Doctoral Candidate Kayti Lausch, “‘A Safe Place to Be Entertained’: Race, Gender, Christianity, and Family Values on UP Tv:; SAC Certificate Student  Anne Charlotte Mecklenburg, “‘I Believe in Rainbow Bondage Bear’: One Direction Fans Negotiate Celebrity Closeting”; Doctoral Candidate Josh Morrison, “KINKy TV: Showcase’s Permissive Canadian Queerness”; and Doctoral Student Kaelie Thompson, “The Scotland of Outlander: Why Women Love a Man in a Kilt."
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