SUNNYVALE, Calif., March 3, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cogswell College today, announced the promotion of Jerome Solomon to Academic Dean. Solomon previously held the position of Assistant Professor in the Digital Art & Animation department. He also serves as the Program Director for Cogswell's Games Program and as an instructor for its Game Studio class. The class recently produced a video in which students talk about their experiences creating a Unity-based, action puzzle game for mobile devices and how they are looking forward to beta testing the game in local elementary schools in March.

Since coming on board in January 2013, Professor Solomon has been instrumental in redesigning Cogswell's game programs and in creating project-based learning game development teams. He will continue to design, teach and oversee courses in gaming, engineering, and animation, with the additional responsibility of day-to-day academic administration and leadership. Solomon will report directly to Cogswell's chief academic officer, Dr. Deborah Snyder.

"Jerome has a deep understanding of numerous technologies and programming languages, coupled with a renowned industry reputation in the film, gaming and animation communities," says Dr. Deborah Snyder. "His experience in the industry and academic teaching credentials are critical assets that support Cogswell's intense focus on project-based learning and emphasis on design and engineering."

Solomon is director of the Computer Animation Festival for ACM SIGGRAPH 2014, where he previously served as SIGGRAPH Productions Sessions Chair in 2012 and 2013. SIGGRAPH is the world's premier event on computer graphics and interactive techniques that includes representation from an international selection of large and small studios. The juried Computer Animation Festival is considered the world's most innovative exploration of computer-generated animation and visual effects.

He is a 17-year film and video game industry veteran whose film credits include Avatar, Shrek 2, Madagascar and the Oscar-winning Babe. His AAA game title credits include Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, The Godfather Game and Tiger Woods 07. He has worked at Industrial Light and Magic, DreamWorks Animation, Electronic Arts, Rhythm & Hues Studios and taught at the Art Institute in Sunnyvale. He holds a Masters Degree in Computer Graphics from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Bachelor Degree in Computer Engineering from UCLA.

About Cogswell College

Located in Sunnyvale, Calif., in the heart of the Silicon Valley, Cogswell College is an accredited four-year institution of higher education with a curriculum that fuses art, engineering and entrepreneurship (http://www.cogswell.edu/academics/programs.php). As one of the Bay Area's premier colleges, its novel academic approach offers an integrated model that emulates the industry environment—a collaborative, project-based, learning approach that uses multidisciplinary teams to take projects from concept through the delivery pipeline.

Cogswell alumni credentials include Modern Warfare 3, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Gears of War 3 and blockbuster films including Life of Pi, Madagascar,Snow White & the Huntsman and The Avengers. Student-created films have garnered scores of national awards (http://www.cogswell.edu/student-work/worlds-apart.php). Cogswell alumni have gone on to careers with Activision, DreamWorks, Disney, Electronic Arts, Pixar and Microsoft Game Studio as well as starting their own creative ventures.