AET Advisory Board and Industry Partnerships

Let's look at the history of the Academy of Entertainment and Technology's Advisory Board and Industry Partners. On June 19, 1997, Santa Monica College's website announced the new Academy. SMC stated: "The Advisory Board will help design the curriculum, provide internships, serve as guest lecturers or adjunct faculty, provide in-service training for SMC faculty, and assist in the acquisition of equipment and the design of the facility." It sounded impressive, but as AET Chairman Bill Lancaster admitted: "We need to become more active with industry partners. Currently, industry partners do not do more than serve on advisory boards."

Let's examine the Who's Who list I made by clicking HERE. (Hit the BACK button on your browser when done or open this chart in a new window to use as a reference.)

This chart reveals a great deal. The most obvious is the massive exodus of companies after 2001. Then, beginning in 2002 and going to the current time, AET switched from listing companies to merely listing individuals who worked for companies. From 2003 to 2005, only three new individuals joined the AET advisory board. Also, some of these individuals switched companies, clearly pointing to the fact that it was individual advisors in lieu of entertainment industry commitment.

AET additionally dropped the terms "partnership companies" and "program participants" in lieu of "advisory board members." So, were these companies no longer the partners promised to provide the Academy students with internships and jobs? Were the companies no longer active "participants" but merely just sitting idly on advisory boards as Bill Lancaster indicated?

Also, notice the lack of longevity of these companies involvement, regardless of how limited. Many of the original companies that committed their names in July 1997, the year SMC was pushing its new Academy, did not return for a second year. One questions how accurate the large group of entertainment partners was for the three-year period between 1998 and 2001. AET didn't revise its stagnant website much, so did it use this as an excuse to misrepresent the number and involvement of its alleged partners?

Lastly, notice all the partners who also appear on the AET donor list from that shiny silver plaque on the first floor of AET. Did these companies merely buy their way into being listed as a partner? How many of these companies and individuals provided internships and jobs to AET students? Which companies benefited financially from their involvement with AET? Which individuals and companies funneled money out of AET into their own pockets? How many of these companies became clients of AET and SMC employees rather than assuming the role of employer for the AET students?

I will update the chart, or perhaps create a new one, which will attempt to answer these important questions. In the meantime, let's all keep searching for the truth rather than blindly accepting the propaganda thrown to us. Perhaps we can make some much-needed changes in the AET program. Although our alleged industry partners have lost faith in our school, we should not.

-- Des Manttari,
Editor-in-Chief,
Phoenix Genesis

(c) 2005: Phoenix Genesis/MBS LP

Feel free to link or print this; just include the SAVE SMC URL: http://savesmc.blogspot.com/

Technorati Tags: Santa Monica College, Academy of Entertainment and Technology, public schools, internships, entertainment industry, advisory board, industry partnerships, industry partners, companies, program participants, News and politics, Bill Lancaster, AET donor list