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New UCLA TFT Associate Dean for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Named

Professor Myung Hee Cho, who has been a Department of Theater faculty member since 2009, is a respected scenic designer with international credits

Teri Schwartz, Dean of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television (UCLA TFT) recently announced that Professor Myung Hee Cho has been appointed as UCLA TFT’s Associate Dean for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion as part of a campus-wide “diversity responsibility” initiative launched by UCLA Chancellor Gene Block and Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Scott Waugh. Professor Cho, an award winning scenic designer, has been a senior scenic design professor in the Department of Theater since 2009.

“The strategic focus on diversity, in all of its complex forms, is central to our vision and mission at UCLA TFT,” Dean Schwartz says. “Diversity informs all that we do to create an inclusive and vibrant community that welcomes faculty, students and staff from all walks of life and with a focus on the kinds of humanistic stories, performances and research that reflect our multi-cultural world. I couldn’t be happier that Professor Cho has accepted our invitation to serve in this important role to help us advance these ideals.”

Cho will work with Dean Schwartz, department chairs, faculty, staff and students to generate exciting diversity initiatives for the School, and to provide a forum for inclusive conversation and best practices welcoming to all. In addition, Cho will help to foster policies and activities that will articulate best practices for searches, recruitment and retention for faculty and students at all levels.

“I am thrilled to take on this challenge,” Cho says, “and to make stimulating and thought-provoking conversations happen on our campus.”

A set and costume designer for theater, opera, dance and other special productions, Cho recently completed a high-profile set and costume design project for the Shanghai Disney Resort. Other recent and past projects include The Marriage of Figaro for Washington National Opera; The Body of the World at American Repertory Theater; The Thieving Magpie for the Glimmerglass Festival; Black Odyssey at Denver Center Theater; Emotional Creature by Eve Ensler at The Linney Theatre in New York, Berkeley Repertory Theatre and The Market Theatre, Johannesburg; The Magic Flute at the Canadian Opera Company; The Good Person of Szechuan at the Landestheater Linz, in Linz, Austria; Awaking for the Singapore Theatre Festival; Yellow Face for the Mark Taper Forum and The Public Theater; System Wonderland and The Piano Teacher at South Coast Repertory; Citizen 13559 at the Kennedy Center; The Golden Mickeys for Disney Creative Entertainment/Hong Kong; and Le nozze di Figaro at the Chicago Opera Theater.

 

 Posted: November 18, 2016