The University of TExas at Dallas

For Immediate Release    News contact:  Jenni Bullington, UTD, (972) 883-4431, jennib@utdallas.edu

Computer Animation Visionary Dr. Tom Linehan

Joins UTD as Professor, Director of New

Institute for Interactive Arts and Engineering

RICHARDSON, Texas (Jan. 15, 2002) — Dr. Thomas E. Linehan, a visionary in the field of computer animation, has joined The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) as a professor of aesthetic studies and will serve as director of UTD’s newly formed Institute for Interactive Arts and Technology.

The arrival of Linehan and the creation of the institute will afford UTD the opportunity to eventually become known as an early innovator in providing degree programs in advanced interactive arts and technology.   UTD’s School of Arts and Humanities and Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science envisioned this institute collaborated to jointly create it, which will provide students the opportunity learn about in interactive innovation in the fields of communications, entertainment, education and training as well as in scientific and medical applications. This institute is meant to attract the best and the brightest to study how the possible transforming effects that technology can have on our arts, computer science, physics, filmmaking, literature, and communications.   The new institute and UTD faculty and students will be charged to invent new futures for these converging disciplines and fields.

“Tom has provided instruction to artists, designers, filmmakers and art educators, and we are excited to bring someone with his experience to U.T. Dallas,” said Dr. Dennis Kratz, dean of UTD’s School of Arts and Humanities.  “And the creation of the Institute for Interactive Arts and Technology is a pivotal step toward UTD becoming a school dedicated to the study of art technology.  We are confident Tom will be instrumental in guiding us through this process.”

Linehan, who also has a background in corporate management and educational administration, has extensive experience in computer game design and animation. 

Most recently, he served as creator and director of the Research Partners program at The Ohio State University, where he was responsible for pairing university faculty and graduate students with corporations for research partnerships to study digital communication technologies. 

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Prior to that, Linehan was president of The Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota, Fl.  As early as 1983, Linehan had begun consulting with the college and helped create the premiere undergraduate curriculum in computer animation. Serving as the president of this four year art college permitted Linehan to work with the faculty from all fields to implement the benefits derived from these converging technologies.

In the early 1970s, Linehan established and directed the graduate programs in computer animation at  Ohio State’s Advanced Computing Center for Arts and Design, where he was responsible for a merged graduate program of a total of 50 master and doctoral students from computer science, physics, electrical engineering, art, film, architecture and education.

Linehan also has worked with Texas A&M University to establish the College of Architecture's Visualization Laboratory. A&M created an outstanding program of study leading to masters and doctoral programs in Visualization Sciences. Linehan has served as a consultant in the development of similar programs in the Netherlands, Germany, New Zealand and Canada.

Linehan also served as executive vice president of CRSS Architects, a worldwide design firm, where he managed a number of major corporate units and implemented CRSS’ early entrance into advanced computer-based design and computer visualization.

                “I look forward to helping UTD create an Interactive Arts and Technology program from the ground up,” Linehan said.  “With the help of the Erik Jonsson School and the talented Arts and Humanities faculty and staff, I am confident UTD will become one of the top educational programs in interactive technologies in the world."

A native of Wisconsin, Linehan received both his Ph. D. and Master of Arts in art education from The Ohio State University and his Bachelor of Arts in fine art from Webster University in St. Louis, Mo.

About UTD

     The University of Texas at Dallas, located at the convergence of Richardson, Plano and Dallas in the heart of the complex of major multinational technology corporations known as the Telecom Corridor ®, enrolls more than 7,000 undergraduate and 5,000 graduate students.  The school’s freshman class traditionally stands at the forefront of Texas state universities in terms of average SAT scores.  The university offers a broad assortment of bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs.  For additional information about UTD, please visit the university’s Web site at www.utdallas.edu.

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