Brooks Institute

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Brooks Institute
Image:Brooks logo.jpg
Motto: Passion. Vision. Excellence.
Established: 1945
Type: Private, For Profit
President: Roger C. Andersen Ed.D
Location: Santa Barbara, California, USA
Campus: Suburban
Website: Brooks Institute

Brooks Institute (not to be confused with Brooks College) is a for-profit college based in Santa Barbara, California and Ventura, California which is owned by Career Education Corporation.[1] Formally known as 'Brooks Institute of Photography', Brooks Institute offers four majors and a graduate program. The Professional Photography, and Masters of Fine Arts in Photography programs are based in Santa Barbara. The Graphic Design, Film and Video Production, and Visual Journalism programs are based in Ventura.

Contents

[edit] History

Brooks Institute of Photography was founded in 1945 by Ernest H. Brooks, Sr. over a bakery on State Street in Santa Barbara, California. The school's first photography students were primarily World War II veterans supported by the GI Bill.

In 1952, the Brooks family acquired the Graholm Estate in present-day Montecito, California. This served as the home of Brooks Institute of Photography, as well as for Ernest H. Brooks, Sr.'s growing family.

Ernest H. Brooks, Sr. stayed on as president of the school until 1971 and died in 1990. At the time of his retirement as president, his son, Ernest H. Brooks, Jr. stepped into his father's shoes and served as the school's president.

During his tenure as president, Ernest Brooks, Jr. continued to expand the school. His personal passion for underwater photography inspired the underwater video and still photography courses that started in the late '60s and continue to this day. [2]

Brooks Institute has been involved in many extraordinary projects in recent years, but this forward vision and involvement was happening even in the 1980s when the Institute was permitted to photograph the Shroud of Turin. Professor Vernon Miller, then head of the Industrial/Scientific program, led a team of photographers as they photographed the cloth for documentation and study.

The school was sold by Ernest H. Brooks, Jr. to Career Education Corporation (CEC) in 1999. Since then, CEC has expanded the school, including the acquisition of a former production studio in which to base the school's motion picture program. In 2007, the school changed its name from Brooks Institute of Photography to Brooks Institute.[3]

[edit] Programs of study

Brooks Institute has four separate academic programs.

Professional Photography, based in Santa Barbara, focuses on the following areas of specialization: Digital Imaging, Commercial, Advertising, Industrial/Scientific, Portraiture and Digital Media.

Film and Video Production, based in Ventura, is a study of filmmaking and production techniques, including proposals and budgeting, scripting, directing, and editing. Majors include, Feature Filmmaking, Commercial Filmmaking, Visual Effects and Animation.

Visual Journalism, based in Ventura, concentrates on teaching photojournalism.

Graphic Design is based in Ventura.

Master of Fine Arts in Photography, based in Santa Barbara, is a 61 credit, two year program. The MFA program allows students to benefit from higher technical, aesthetic and practical knowledge.

The Santa Barbara "Jefferson Campus"
The Entrance of the Ventura Campus

[edit] Campus and student life

Brooks Institute has two main campuses, both located in Santa Barbara, California and Ventura, California. The Professional Photography Program facilities are located at the Santa Barbara campus. The Visual Journalism, Film and Video Production and Graphic Design classes are located at the facilities in Ventura. Brooks also has two libraries, one in Santa Barbara and one in Ventura, that contain thousands of books, journals and other publications. [3]

Brooks Institute also has two public art galleries that display student, faculty, alumni, and guest photographer work. Brooks Institute's Gallery 27 is located at the Cota Street campus in Santa Barbara. The Visions Gallery is operated in conjunction with the Marriott Ventura Beach in Ventura.

The Ventura Campus contains three professional Hollywood style sound-stages, a 'Mexican Village' movie set, and the 'Brock House'; the actual set used as the interior house in the film Erin Brockovich (film).

[edit] Notable alumni, faculty, and students

Students working on the "Mexican Village" set at the Ventura Campus

The film program at Brooks Institute began in the mid 1950s. Graduates include: Isidore Mankofsky, Cinematography for The Muppet Movie and Somewhere in Time; Dominick Palmer, Cinematography on the TV series M*A*S*H; Robert Legato, Academy Award winner for Best Effects (Digital Domain) on the movie Titanic, Visual Effects Supervisor for The Aviator and Visual Effects on Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone; and most recently, graduate Boris Undorf, Best Cinematography at Visionfest's Festival for Sonata.[4]

Some recent notable alumni and faculty include:

Faculty:

Alumni:

  • Stephen McGee, Visual Journalism alumnus, earned his third Emmy in 2008 for his project, "Forty Years of Respect." [8]
  • James McLean, 2005 Film graduate, produced the multi-award winning film, "Choose Conner." [9]
  • James Neihouse, 1976 Professional Photography graduate, works with IMAX as their Director of Photography. [10]
  • Cornelius Uliano and Bryan Schulz, Film alumni who recently sold their fantasy script "Imaginary Friends" to Dreamworks.[11]
  • Jim O'Keeffe, Film graduate and alumni board member, Director of Photography on the National Geographic show, "Naked Science: Death of the Universe." [12]
  • Josef Nalevansky, 1999 Film alumni. Director of Photography on Disney's film Morning Light.[13][14]
  • Mariah Tauger, Visual Journalism student photographed the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. [15]
  • Robin Lorenson, alumnus, captured media attention as a "storm chaser." [16]
  • Christian Hartsock, director, columnist
  • Robert Twine, 1979 Professional Photography Graduate, Director of Photography at Sunny Day Guides

[edit] Accreditation

Contrary to popular misconception, Brooks is nationally accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools[3] which offers accreditation to mostly vocational schools. National accreditation should not be confused with regional accreditation. Regionally accredited schools, such as UCLA, USC, CSU Channel Islands, or UC Berkeley, often do not accept transfer credits from nationally accredited schools. Once credits are earned at a nationally accredited school you can not transfer them to most 4 year institutions.[17]

In August 2008, Brooks Institute successfully completed, "Eligibility," the first step to receiving regional accreditation by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).[18] This application process takes several years and is not a guarantee that the school will become accredited. Most public and private universities are regionally accredited.[19][20][21][22]

[edit] Controversy

In July 2005, the California Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education (BPPVE) accused Brooks Institute of Photography and its parent corporation Career Education Corporation of persuading prospective students to enroll by "willfully misleading" them, "falsifying and omitting critical information." [23][24][25] Brooks was given only a conditional approval to operate for the next two years with a hearing scheduled for February 2006, and ordered to provide "equitable restitution" to students going back to 1999. However, Brooks appealed the decision and at the hearing the judge determining that BPPVE had not complied with the mandatory provisions of the Education Code, and that it had wrongly denied Brooks Institute an opportunity to contest the Bureau's action prior to the time it was imposed. The California Department of Consumer Affairs (which oversees BPPVE) later reached the same conclusion.[26] Although Brooks ultimately received unconditional renewal of its license, it settled with a class action lawsuit for $12,250,000.[27][28]

[edit] Restructuring

In November 2008, Brooks laid off five faculty members and 12 staff members as part of a restructuring. The school reports that its enrollment dropped from 2,300 in 2004 to 1,200 in 2008.[29] This recent restructuring is in addition to the faculty who had been 'seemingly dismissed' in recent years; together these created tensions at Brooks tracing back to about January 2007.[30]

[edit] References

  1. ^ CEC directory of schools
  2. ^ www.brooks.edu
  3. ^ a b c Brooks Institute website
  4. ^ http://www.brooks.edu/mpvideo.asp
  5. ^ http://www.brooks.edu/news_08_emmy.asp
  6. ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0546803/
  7. ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0722266/
  8. ^ http://www.Brooks.edu
  9. ^ http://www.chooseconner.com
  10. ^ http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081006/NEWS02/810060330
  11. ^ http://www.movieweb.com/news/NE4kJ98cSX1P79
  12. ^ http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/naked-science/3638/Overview
  13. ^ http://www.brooks.edu/news.asp
  14. ^ http://www.apple.com/trailers/disney/morninglight/
  15. ^ http://www.independent.com/news/2008/jul/01/brooks-institutes-mariah-tauger-taking-her-camera-/
  16. ^ http://www.brooks.edu/press/press_07-31-08_lorenson.asp
  17. ^ Types of Accreditation U.S. State Department website
  18. ^ www.Brooks.edu
  19. ^ Demanding Credit, Inside Higher Education website, dated Oct. 19, 2005 by Scott Jaschik
  20. ^ Tussling Over Transfer of Credit, Inside Higher Education website, February 26, 2007 by Doug Lederman
  21. ^ What is the Difference Between Regional and National Accreditation, Yahoo! Education website
  22. ^ Types of Accreditation, Education USA website
  23. ^ California Agency Alleges Brooks Institute of Photography "Willfully" Misled Students, The Big Picture, July 28, 2005
  24. ^ Calif. Reins In a For-Profit College, Inside Higher Education, July 20, 2005
  25. ^ Morgenson, Gretchen (2005-07-24). "The School That Skipped Ethics Class". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/24/business/yourmoney/24gret.html?pagewanted=print. Retrieved on 2008-11-09. 
  26. ^ Department of Consumer Affairs Invalidates Actions of California Bureau against Brooks Institute, Career Education Corp. press release, May 16, 2006
  27. ^ http://209.85.173.132/search?q=cache:pSBkAphhRGIJ:www.braunlawgroup.com/Notice_of_Settlement_final.pdf+brooks+institute+settlement&cd=5&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
  28. ^ Career Education Corporation Announces Renewal of Unconditional Licensure for Brooks Institute of Photography, Yahoo Business, April 21, 2007
  29. ^ http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/nov/01/brooks-institute-lays-off-17-employees/
  30. ^ http://www.vcreporter.com/cms/story/detail/?id=4224&IssueNum=108

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Colleges and Universities of Santa Barbara County
Two-year and community colleges
Four-year colleges and universities
Graduate Only Schools
v • d • e
Colleges and Universities of Ventura County
Two-year and community colleges
Four-year colleges and universities
Graduate Only Schools

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