410 Forum — Arts
Professor Works To Expand Film Program
By Drew McConnell
TThe Muffled conversation fills the room. Only a few words find their way to the ears. The intolerable light from the sun shines through the blinds and creates luminous stripes on the carpet and on the desks. The door swings open, and a few anxious students walk into the cool room. They wait patiently for their professor, eager to hear her insight.
She walks in, dressed not unlike her students; a long plaid skirt and leather boots compliment her dark hair and glasses. She seems too young to be this accomplished, but she impresses everyone by her very presence. They sit forward, anticipating the day’s lesson. The professor is armed with several books and movies and takes the class through the class period with tenacity. She speaks quickly, but clearly, showing her enthusiasm for the subject without being too frantic. Her excitement stimulates the minds of her students, and her insight radiates toward the desks, inspiring people to speak. She stands before eager minds, balancing on her high-heeled boots with skill. Her posture is strong like a soldier’s but relaxed like a student’s.
April Miller has been teaching at UNC for only two years, but she has already made an impact on students, and she hopes to help make an even greater impact on the English program.
“April is awesome, she makes our classes so interesting,” said Ashley Nutt, a junior English major.
Right now, the University of Northern Colorado offers only a minor program in film studies. In 2008 there were only 33 students registered as film minors, But Miller has been working on increasing enrollment, and in the past year, that number has increased to 57. Now, Miller is working with the English program to increase enrollment in the minor, in hopes that the program can be expanded to offer a major.
“April cares about her students, and she’s been very pro-active,” said Tracy Sedinger, director of UNC’s School of English Language and Literature.
Miller has hosted many events around campus to promote the film program, and organized a party for the Academy Awards.
Miller has gotten the attention of some students and has been a large part of raising the enrollment for the film minor. Once the number of students enrolled reaches 100, Miller and Sedinger plan to appeal to the university to include a film major. For now, Miller simply focuses on her classes and on her students.
Miller grew up in Alberta and went to college there to study literature. She attended graduate school at Rochester in New York, and it was there that she became fascinated by film. It was through the Eastman house film archive and promotional sheet music that she began thinking about film, specifically, silent movies. Miller was fascinated by the history of silent film, and how it brought so many different people together.
“I would never have guessed that I would have such an interest in silent films,” said Miller.
Miller enjoys teaching classes that deal with criminals in film. Last year, she taught a class called Monsters and Madmen, which dealt with classic monster movies as well as modern crime films. This semester, she is teaching a class called Criminal Minds, which deals with the portrayal of violence in movies. Miller brings a great deal of historical background into her lectures to help the students understand the films better.
“Film can be a way to get students engaged in historical moments,” said Miller. She added that having a historical background forces students to read and criticize material better.
Miller is not only busy on campus, but also active outside of Colorado. She frequents film festivals and archives around the country. This past October, Miller attended a silent film festival outside of Venice.
Miller says she wants UNC’s film program to go somewhere, but she won’t be leaving anytime soon. Miller and her colleague, Kenneth Chan, another film professor at UNC, are doing a lot to boost the enrollment in the program.
“Their teaching evaluations are fantastic, and more students seem to be interested,” said Sedinger.
Miller says she likes living in Greeley and teaching film and English at the school.
“Greeley reminds me of Alberta,” said Miller.
More On Miller
• Born in New Brunswick, grew up in Alberta, Canada.
• Bachelor of the arts in English literature, master’s and Ph.D. in English and film studies.
• Started teaching at UNC in the fall of 2007.
• Taught Introduction Composition at Rochester for five and a half years before coming to Colorado.
Source: April Miller
