Deric Olsen Looks at the Big Picture in FFAC
During an interview on the fourth floor of Allard Hall, one of the last things I ask Deric Olsen is which Lord of The Rings character he thinks he would be. I heard he was a fan, but now I know it has to be true because this question takes him the longest to answer, and he tenses his face to ponder it carefully.
“Elrond,” he says.
At this point, Olsen has not even been the dean of FFAC for two months, and the building has been sparsely populated during that tenure. He says he thinks about the faculty as a single unit and that he needs to be its biggest advocate.
It’s still too soon to know what kind of direction he’ll take the school, but Olsen is excited about what’s being passed on from his predecessor, Allan Gilliland.
“I’m interested in the big picture.”
Deric Olsen, dean of MacEwan’s Faculty of Fine Arts and Communications
“This institution just has an amazing program, amazing students, amazing faculty, and was an opportunity that I just couldn’t pass up.”
Olsen comes to MacEwan after spending over 16 years working at the University of Lethbridge (the same school where he did his undergrad), where he was most recently the chair of the drama department.
He’s got deep roots in Southern Alberta, having grown up just east of Waterton Lakes National Park, and he’s got equally deep roots in the film industry with a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Department of Film at the University of Regina, and plentiful directing, writing, and production credits.
I asked Olsen about Common Chord, a feature-length film he directed and co-wrote and released in 2013. That film, in particular, included many of his students from the U of L in the production, was nominated for several awards, and won an award at the Alberta Film and Television Awards.
He says the decision to include students was part of his teaching philosophy.
“I can demonstrate something a million times in the classroom, but until students have an opportunity to execute that, to practice it in the field, to practice it, practice it on their own, they’re missing out on a key, critical component of the learning process.”
The focus on work-integrated learning—something most programs at FFAC require—was also one of the things Olsen liked when he was researching this position.
“I can demonstrate something a million times in the classroom, but until students have an opportunity to execute that, to practice it in the field, to practice it, practice it on their own, they’re missing out on a key, critical component of the learning process.”
Deric Olsen, dean of MacEwan’s Faculty of Fine Arts and Communications
FFAC has a lot of variety under its ubiquitous umbrella, and Olsen’s experience matches many of the disciplines in Allard Hall. He’s a filmmaker who’s used to juggling different departments in production, but he’s also got experience in new media, drama, and professional and technical communications.
“One of the things that made this opportunity so attractive to me,” Olsen says, “is that it encompasses so many things that I’ve had experience with throughout my career.”
Even though he is a filmmaker and committed to being dean, he’s not particularly bullish about getting a film program started.
“Any kind of program development, any kind of growth, that’s really going to come from the faculty,” Olsen says.
“It’s always going to be student-centered, student-focused.”
Before we finish the interview, I ask Olsen why he chose Elrond.
“I’m interested in the big picture,” he says. “I like the big picture. And there’s something just wise about that character that I think I aspire to.”
Photo credits: Amanda Erickson
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