1995 Illustration Alumnus, Board of Trustee Member and Academy Award® Winner Brandon Oldenburg will be the 2012 Ringling College of Art and Design Commencement Speaker, Friday May 4th.
The selection of the Commencement Speaker each year is coordinated by a committee made-up of faculty, staff, and students based on recommendations received by the Ringling College Community. Special committee members include: Co-chairs VP of Student Life and Dean of Students Dr. Tammy Walsh and Vice President for Academic Affairs Melody Weiler, and committee members faculty members Tom Carabasi, Robert Cooksey, Jennifer Mumford, Kimberly Russo and Ryan Van Cleave, and students Kaitlyn Priestly and Tim Carter.
Oldenburg co-directed Moonbot Studios’ “The Fantastic Flying Books of Morris Lessmore,” which won the Oscar® this year for Best Animated Short, beating out even Pixar’s Luna! As a Ringling College graduate and a successful artreprenuer, having co-founded ReelFX and Moonbot Studios Brandon epitomizes what we mean when we say our graduates are “Shattering the Myth of the Starving Artist”™ Not only has Brandon found personal, professional success through his art, but he has shared his passion by hiring a number of Ringing College student interns and graduates at both companies over the years.