Mary Pickford Foundation AET Scholarship Endowment

Pursuant to our Third Request for Inspection and Copies of public records belonging to Santa Monica College, we requested the following (request no. 28): "Any and all documents pertaining to scholarships given to students under the Mary Pickford Foundation from its inception to the current semester 2005." To date, we have received no documents. Under the California Public Records Act, these documents should be produced.

As we revealed in our blog story, Academy of Entertainment and Technology Donors, the Mary Pickford Foundation is listed as a benefactor to AET. What precisely did the Mary Pickford Foundation contribute to warrant such a prestigious title? Well, according to a SMC press release, dated June 24, 1998, the Santa Monica College Foundation allegedly received a $200,000 gift from the Mary Pickford Foundation "to establish an endowment fund for scholarships for students at the college’s acclaimed Academy of Entertainment and Technology."

The press release adds in relevant part:

"We are happy to have established a fund for scholarships at SMC and are excited about the Academy," said Thomas M. Andersen, President of the Mary Pickford Foundation Board of Directors. "We expect much from the graduates."

The Academy of Entertainment and Technology is a unique program, started in the fall of 1997, that trains students in computer animation and visual effects, new media, themed entertainment, and entertainment industry business. Its advisory board is made up of representatives from major studios and related entertainment companies.

"We are profoundly grateful to the Mary Pickford Foundation for its generosity," said SMC President Dr. Piedad F. Robertson. "The scholarships will enable many of our students to make their dreams come true and contribute to the economic vitality of Southern California."

So, if this scholarship endowment was supposed to make our dreams come true and to contribute to the economic vitality of Southern California, why can't SMC find any documents supporting these contentions? Why have the themed entertainment and entertainment industry business occupational certificates vanished from the AET program? Why has Piedad Robertson left SMC's presidency to work for the ECS after her second vote of no confidence? More importantly, why have none of us over at AET heard of this massive scholarship endowment?

Here's a current snapshot from SMC's General Scholarships for 2004-2005 pertaining to AET:



So, according to this SMC webpage, the Mary Pickford Foundation scholarships exist for AET students, yet SMC has not provided the public records to prove than any of us at AET have actually received these scholarships. Furthermore, what precisely does SMC mean when they state: "demonstrated commitment to the program"? Yet, Barbara Jacobs continues to receive $10,000 a year in consulting contract payments for her involvement in the Mary Speaker Series through AET Professor Jim Keeshen's ET2 Storytelling course. It appears that the SMC administration have not shown commitment to our program over at AET nor to our students.

Another interesting point is that the only two scholarships listed for 2004-2005 are for the Mary Pickford Foundation and The Steifel/Dockweiler Fund. I'm a bit curious what happened to the Esper A. Petersen grant money for AET students in 2004. They, too, are listed as AET Donors, having provided allegedly scholarships to students in the "technologically advanced entertainment industry" yet they are not listed in the screenshot above. Here's a snapshot I made of the Esper A. Petersen's non-profit 990 tax filing for 2004:



According to the Mary Pickford Foundation tax returns, here's the breakdown of money given to Santa Monica College and the Santa Monica College Foundation:

1997: Santa Monica College $30,000
1998: Santa Monica College $25,000
1998: Santa Monica College Foundation $10,000
1999 Santa Monica College $25,000 General Support
1999: Santa Monica College $ 50,000 General Support
2000: Santa Monica College $25,000 General Support
2000: Santa Monica City College Stage $ 50,000 General Support
2001 Santa Monica College $25,000 General Support
2001: Santa Monica City College Stage $ 50,000 General Support
2002: Santa Monica College $25,000
2003: Santa Monica College $25,000

So, the allocation of these funds remains a mystery that hopefully we can solve.

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

(c) 2005: Phoenix Genesis/MBS LP

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