Paul Lawrence, former director of media production and training services at the Banff Center for the Arts in Canada, was named director of the Center for Media Initiatives (CMI) at Yale University, effective December 1, 2000.
Among other projects, Lawrence will be involved in the development of pilot programs for the University Alliance for Life-long Learning, a cooperative venture recently begun by Yale, Princeton, Stanford and Oxford universities. Initially the consortium will produce non-credit, new media courses for alumni. Lawrence is currently helping to develop “eClaudia,” an interactive, multi-media art history course on women in ancient Rome, created by Diana E.E. Kleiner, the Dunham Professor of Classics and the History of Art and deputy provost at Yale.
As a platform for innovation, the CMI, based at 175 Whitney Avenue, will advance the use of media across the University for educational purposes. Working with the office of Academic Media and Technology, the CMI will identify and disseminate innovations to the campus community.
At Banff, Lawrence created a business plan expanding access to technology, developed training programs and completed several television and new media production initiatives. Over the past 15 years, he has produced and directed documentaries, commercial work and interactive media projects. As executive producer of television and new media at the University of British Columbia, he spearheaded that university’s development of a multimedia production area. He also taught digital postproduction techniques in that university’s Department of Theatre, Film and Creative Writing.
Lawrence earned his M.F.A. degree from the University of British Columbia and his B.A. and diploma in Fine Art and Design from Emily Carr Institute in Vancouver.
