In fall 2022, University of Colorado Denver (CU Denver) will host the Mexico Studies Chair for visiting scholars within the College of Arts & Media (CAM) Film & Television department. The opportunity to invite talented Mexican scholars and makers to the CAM faculty comes about thanks to a unique partnership with COMEXUS: Becas Fulbright-García Robles.

“This is both an honor for CU Denver and an exceptional opportunity for film and television faculty and students,” Dean Laurence Kaptain of CAM states. “The power of this partnership will reach into Denver’s creative industries and underscore the connectivity between the U.S. and Mexico—particularly in creative expression and the arts economies,” he says.

CU Denver is just the seventh U.S. partner to host this fellowship, following Notre Dame, The University of Chicago, The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, University of California San Diego, University of Southern California Los Angeles, and Juniata College. Notably, CU Denver’s will be first appointment of the U.S. Mexico Studies Chair program that will be designated to the arts and creative industries.

Mexican faculty and film professionals selected for the chair will have the opportunity to teach in Film & Television and be a visiting fellow in CAM. Stays are generally for five months, and it is expected that the person who holds the chair will bring an extensive background and accomplishment in film and television production. This partnership will continue for up to five years.

CAM Film & Television chair, David Liban, eagerly anticipates the creative collaboration that will be possible due to the chair. “I am excited to build a relationship with professionals from the Mexican film industry.  Some of the world’s best filmmakers are from Mexico, and it will benefit the students and faculty of CAM to learn from each other.”

CAM is Colorado’s first arts and entertainment unit and one of the few public institutions in the U.S. with programs that incorporate digital media, music entertainment, film and television, recording arts, song writing, digital design, and other entertainment industry-leading programs. CAM is active in providing international opportunities for students, including numerous short-term study abroad programs (Europe, Latin America, and Asia) as well as ArtsHub Asia Semester Abroad programs that will launch in Fall ’22 in Singapore and Spring ’23 in Malaysia.

The addition of the Mexico Studies Chair is on par with CAM’s commitment to prepare its students for both international and domestic opportunities in arts and media.