| SFSU Public Affairs Press ReleasePublished by the Public Affairs Office at San Francisco State University, Diag Center. |
OAKLAND, CA, November 6, 2001 - San Francisco State University is preparing to launch its Oakland Multimedia Center, which Mayor Jerry Brown says will boost the vitality of downtown Oakland and provide East Bay citizens convenient access to quality technology education. Mayor Brown will join University administrators, faculty and staff for a Grand Opening at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 13.
The SFSU Oakland Multimedia Center, located in an area of downtown Oakland marked for revitalization, will offer more than 100 cutting-edge interactive media courses per year to as many as 4,000 working professionals and others seeking multimedia training.
Oakland - named the No. 1 up-and-coming technology city in the United States earlier this year by Newsweek - is thrilled to welcome the world's leading Multimedia Studies Program, Mayor Brown said.
"The SFSU Oakland Multimedia Center is strategically positioned in the heart of the city," said Mayor Brown. "The Center will contribute to the dynamism of downtown and offer Oaklanders and other East Bay citizens opportunities to gain valuable skills in the field of digital media."
Mayor Brown will join LucyAnn Geiselman, dean of the SFSU College of Extended Learning; Joseph J. Haraburda, CEO of the Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce; Misty West, director of the SFSU Oakland Multimedia Center; and Extended Learning faculty and staff at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 13, at the SFSU Oakland Multimedia Center (2201 Broadway, at 22nd Street) for the Grand Opening.
Chris Marler, director of technology programs for the SFSU College of Extended Learning, said multimedia skills are still gaining marketability in the job market, despite the dot-com downturn.
"The decline of the dot-com industry has not affected the continuing emergence of multimedia skills as an essential job requirement," Marler said. "More brick-and-mortar companies are requiring skills related to digital media, ranging from the creation of Web sites to the development of digital graphics and video, that are a vital part of employees' job duties. This will only continue to grow."
Haraburda said the Center will further position Oakland as a technology hotbed.
"I am personally pleased to welcome San Francisco State's Multimedia Studies Program to Oakland," Haraburda said. "The expansion of the Oakland Higher Education Consortium to include San Francisco State is a positive step for the technology community in Oakland. With more than 300 technology companies based in the city, the availability of quality programs that will provide future employees for these businesses is beneficial for the business community, the city of Oakland and the community at large."
The Oakland Higher Education Consortium (OHEC) encouraged the College of Extended Learning to open a center in downtown Oakland, as part of the city's efforts to revitalize the area and meet the community's need for high-quality technology training.
The consortium aims to create a higher education network of colleges and universities based in Oakland that will serve re-entry students, working professionals, and others seeking certificates and degrees that will improve their quality of life. Housed in Oakland's Community and Economic Development Agency, OHEC is comprised of 12 Bay Area colleges and universities including SFSU, UC Berkeley Extension, CSU Hayward, University of Phoenix and all campuses in the Peralta Community College District.
The SFSU Oakland Multimedia Center houses 22,000 square feet of classrooms, meeting rooms and state-of-the-art computer labs and will offer 4,000 class seats each year in Web design and production, Flash, information design, graphic design, digital video, 3D modeling, animation, and more. Ten classes will be offered in late November and December, with a complete schedule of courses beginning spring 2002.
"We at San Francisco State are proud to bring our world-class Multimedia Studies Program across the bay to Oakland," Geiselman said. "New populations will now have easy, local access to these skills that will continue to be highly coveted in the job market. We are also honored to take part in Oakland's efforts to revitalize its downtown and enhance the presence of quality higher education in the area."
Open house and free lectures
The SFSU Oakland Multimedia Center and OHEC will hold a free open house from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 15, for anyone interested in learning more about courses, programs and internship opportunities. Faculty and staff advisers will be on hand to give tours of the state-of-the-art facilities. Prospective students can register for classes on site.
Multimedia Studies faculty will also present four free lectures between Monday, Nov. 26, and Thursday, Nov. 29, on an introduction to the online world, careers in animation, 3D modeling, and tips on buying and selling products on eBay.
Anyone may enroll in classes at the Center without formally applying to SFSU because the Multimedia Studies Program is run through the College of Extended Learning.
Faculty are leading multimedia professionals
Students will learn multimedia skills from faculty who work professionally for the industry's leading companies. Under the leadership of Director Misty West, the Center boasts such instructors as Emmy-award winning art director Lee Marrs, whose digital animation and design clients include Apple, IBM, MTV, Time Warner and Electronic Arts. Other faculty hail from Vector Graphics, Red Industries, ioResearch and SBI.
"Our faculty are leaders in the field of digital media, blending the latest in technique with the strongest visions to offer a unique set of learning opportunities to our students," West said. "This is something you can't find anywhere else. Our students use the most powerful technical approaches to communication available to develop professionally and artistically, establishing networks and industry connections that will greatly benefit them as they move forward."
The SFSU Oakland Multimedia Center is in The Breuner Building, an historic art deco structure at 2201 Broadway (at 22nd Street), several blocks from the 19th Street BART station and right off the Grand Avenue exit from Highway 980.
For details on the Center and class offerings, visit msp.sfsu.edu/oakland or call (415) 405-7700.
The Multimedia Studies Program, part of SFSU's College of Extended Learning, was founded in 1992 as one of the first programs of its kind. The program offers one of the largest and most comprehensive courses of study in all aspects of multimedia and provides students with unique access to the tools, business and culture of multimedia.
One of the largest campuses in the 23-campus CSU system, SFSU was founded in 1899 and today is a highly diverse, comprehensive, public and urban university.
SFSU, 1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94132
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