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HUNTINGTON UNIV MAGAZINE

Leeper, Ballinger named to Digital Media Arts faculty

FOR RELEASE August 1, 2005
HUNTINGTON, IN—Stephan Leeper and Bryan Ballinger will serve as instructors for Huntington University’s new Digital Media Arts program beginning this fall.  Digital Media Arts was one of seven new academic programs initiated by Huntington University in 2004. As part of Huntington’s Visual Art and Communication departments, Digital Media Arts will allow students to explore creative and artistic expression by choosing from three focused tracks, including DV Cinema (Film Studies), Computer Animation and Digital Interactive Authoring (DVD, CD, Web).

Stephan Leeper

Stephan Leeper, instructor of Digital Media Arts, is the creator of several award-winning animated films, including Traveling Show and Please Don’t Feed the Animals.  His professional experience includes five years of service at Big Idea Productions, the creators of Veggie Tales.  While at Big Idea Productions, Leeper served as Layout Supervisor for films such as Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie, Lyle the Kindly Viking, King George and the Ducky, and Larryboy and the Rumor Weed.  Leeper also served as an Interim Studio Manager for Big Idea Productions from 1999-2000. 

In addition to his design experience, Leeper served as a part-time instructor for eight years at Columbia College where he developed a curriculum focus on short animated films.  He also has teaching experience as a K-8 art instructor at Lee Christian Academy and as a substitute instructor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Leeper holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Boston and Tufts University in Boston, Mass.  He is currently pursuing his Master of Fine Arts degree in Visual Arts with a Concentration in Animation from the Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University in Boston, Mass.  Leeper also holds certificates in 3D Animation and Bible from the Art Institute of Illinois and Emmaus Bible College, respectively.

Bryan Ballinger

Bryan Ballinger has accepted a one year appointment as visiting instructor in Digital Media Arts. Ballinger has over 13 years of experience in computer graphics for CD-Rom titles, web, print, film, and video.  As a freelance illustrator, Ballinger served clients such as Microsoft, Scholastic, Nintendo, Big Idea Productions, Multnomah Publishers, Zondervan, Macmillan Publishing, Disney, Harley Davidson, Nabisco, and EltonJohn.com. Ballinger is also the illustrator of 16 children’s books.

Ballinger’s other professional experience includes serving as a 3D designer for Big Idea Productions and as a Senior Designer and Illustrator at Microsoft where he was awarded a patent for the development of multimedia buttons.  While at Big Idea Productions, Ballinger worked with 3D illustration, co-wrote and co-illustrated The Great Cheese Squeeze, and did modeling, lighting, and animation for videos and film, including the film Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie.

Ballinger holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Illustration from the Columbus College of Art and Design.  He is currently pursuing his Master of Fine Arts degree from Lesley University in Cambridge, Mass.

Huntington University is a comprehensive Christian college of the liberal arts offering graduate and undergraduate programs in more than 70 academic concentrations. U.S.News & World Report ranks Huntington among the top comprehensive colleges in the Midwest. Founded in 1897 by the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, Huntington University is located on a contemporary, lakeside campus in northeast Indiana. The University is a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) and in 2004 was named one of the 50 best Christian places to work by Christianity Today magazine.

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