Academy Award® Nominee Don Hahn Named Spring 2016 Pankey Chair

December 1, 2015

Orange, CA (November 30, 2015) – Academy Award® nominated producer Don Hahn (“The Lion King,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “High Ground”) has been named spring 2016 Pankey Chair at Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, recognized as one of the premier film schools in the United States. The announcement was made today by Dodge College Dean Bob Bassett.

Through its popular Pankey Chair program, Dodge College hosts an expert filmmaker for a semester to meet with and counsel 10 selected scholars.The program includes regular, bi-weekly meetings with the filmmaker in a one-on-one setting where the student and mentor have the opportunity to creatively develop a specific project throughout the semester. In addition, the filmmaker interacts with the larger Dodge College community at weekly dinners with the filmmaker open to students and screenings of the filmmaker’s films followed by an in-class Q & A. The program is funded by an endowment gift established by trustee emeritus Edgar Pankey and his wife Elizabeth Pankey, who continues to support the program in his honor.

“Don’s breadth of experience across all film mediums, from animation to documentary, will enhance the collaborative environment at Dodge College,” says Dean Bassett.

Hahn’s eclectic resume highlights his interest in multiple genres including animation (“The Lion King,” “Beauty and The Beast”), stop motion (“The Nightmare Before Christmas”), live action/visual effects (“Haunted Mansion,” “Maleficent”) and documentaries (“Waking Sleeping Beauty,” “Oceans,” “High Ground”).

Hahn began his career in film as assistant director to legendary producer/director Wolfgang Reitherman (“Jungle Book”). He was associate producer for the landmark hit “Who Framed Roger Rabbit.” His other credits include “Hunchback of Notre Dame,” “Atlantis,” “Fantasia 2000” and “Emperor’s New Groove.”

Hahn’s love of documentary filmmaking led him to direct “Waking Sleeping Beauty,” and produce acclaimed films such as “High Ground” about soldiers returning from war in Afghanistan, and this year’s Telluride Film Festival selection “Tyrus” about the 105-year-old Chinese American artist Tyrus Wong. He was a founder and executive producer of the acclaimed Disneynature Films (“Earth,” “Oceans,” “African Cats” and “Chimpanzee”).

As an author, Hahn’s books on animation, art and creativity include the bestseller “Brain Storm,” the acclaimed educational series “Drawn To Life” and “Before Ever After: The Lost Lectures of Disney’s Animation Studio.” Hahn also serves on the Advisory Board for the Walt Disney Family Museum, and is on the Board of Directors of PBS SoCal.

About Chapman University:

Consistently ranked among the top universities in the West, Chapman University attracts highly qualified students from around the globe. Its programs are designed to encourage leadership in innovation, creativity and collaboration, and are increasingly recognized for providing an extraordinary educational experience. The university excels in film and media arts, performing arts, educational studies, economics and business, law, humanities and the sciences. Student enrollment in graduate and undergraduate programs is approaching 8,000, and Chapman University alumni are found throughout California and the world.

Lawrence and Kristina Dodge College of Film and Media Arts:

One of the premier film schools in the country, Dodge College of Film and Media Arts offers students the unique opportunity to learn filmmaking in a hands-on environment modeled on a working studio. The college is comprised of the Sodaro-Pankey Undergraduate School of Film and Media Arts, offering degrees in film production, film studies, screenwriting, creative producing, news and documentary, television writing and production, public relations and advertising, screen acting and digital arts; and the graduate Conservatory of Motion Pictures, offering M.F.A. degrees in film production, film and television producing, documentary filmmaking, production design, and screenwriting, and an M.A. in film studies. Two joint M.F.A. degrees in producing are also offered in conjunction with the business (M.F.A./M.B.A.) and law (M.F.A./J.D.) schools. Dodge College is housed in Marion Knott Studios, a state-of-the-art, 76,000-square-foot studio and classroom building that provides students with 24-hour access to sound stages, edit bays, Dolby surround mixing, a motion capture stage and more. With an Oscar and Emmy-award winning full-time faculty that boasts more feature film credits than any other film school, Dodge College is where students learn the entertainment business from the inside out.