BYU must be awash in money, spending millions of dollars on a program so that Pixar will hire "three or four" students a year. Why is a universiy in the animation business?

Private donors have provided generous donations to many programs--including animation which has developed between programs in the colleges of Fine Arts & Communications and Engineering & Technology. These films involve skills in many different areas, and most of these students are well-qualified in many other traditional subjects. In fact, that is a good part of what makes BYU students valuable is their well-rounded education.

Pixar is not the only animator. I have friends who have graduated from the program that work at EA Games, Pixar, Microsoft, NVidea, SkyWalker Ranch and ILM to name few. BYU places nearly all of their animation grads in thei field within 6 months of graduation.

Investing in one of the schools most successful programs is what schools should do, as long as it doesn't cause other programs to fall behind the curve.

"Why is a universiy in the animation business?"

Because computer animation and computer graphics are the wave of the future. Did you know that from cars to kitchens, everything is first designed on a computer these days?

The skills learned in this animation program are transferrable any number of computer modeling fields. Thank goodnes BYU is at the cutting edge! I only hope my son will be able to get into the program or one like it at the University of Utah.

Being a wife of a member of this animation program I can tell you that the money is well spent and the students in this program work hard. They know that Pixar is not the be all end all, they are happy to get a job anywhere in the industry. It's not about what studio they work at, it is about doing something they love.

The university also invests millions of dollars on undergrads who get a degree in the humanities who can't get a job in their field of study and resort to waiting tables and other low-skill employment. The animation program is a success

What about the hopeful students who pour their lives (and funds) into the university and get nothing? I am now competing for work with graduates of trade schools and some who didn't even attend school. I graduated from BYU with honors and didn't borrow a dime for my education.

I think Walt's point is that animation students are only focused on their one area and could probably gain their skills in a tech school setting - they don't need to be in a university setting. The church could save a lot of money by moving this and similar programs to the LDS Business School (which has Graphic Design and Interior Design programs)and making it a 2-3 year program.

Yes, except that these students graduate with a BFA degree and get a well rounded education instead of a trade school education. There could be long arguments about whether this is a good or a bad thing, but let me tell you that studios like Pixar who hire a lot more BFA degrees than trade-school graduates think it is a good thing.

The program only exists because of private donations. The university alone couldn't even come close to covering the costs.

The animation program could not exists without private donors. The university couldn't come close to funding the program without external support.

My husband went to BYU and graduated a few years ago.He had wonderful mentors like Brent and Kelli.He went to Pixar on an internship and now works there full time. This new program will be excellent for future graduates.Pixar loves hiring people from BYU because they're good people and they know what they're doing (thanks to great instructors who model their production process after Pixar!).It's true that Pixar does hire according to skill and experience, and not necessarily a degree, but it's always nice to have something to fall back on!And usually Pixar wants their technical directors to have experience before being hired.Pixar is hiring BYU students basically straight out of school!That's awesome!It's great that BYU has received the funding for this new center.It really puts BYU on the map!

Wow, instead of being impressed and proud of an educational institution for its excellence, you morons (WaltD and Joe) have nothing better to do than think of ways to cut their level of education and funding. Have you even investigated where the funding comes from? Have you ever heard of private donors? Are you so myopic as to think that your field of "expertise" is the only worthwhile one? My talents happen to be in music, but of course that just won't pay well or contribute to society, so all universities should just cut music, along with humanities, dance, art, and so on.

The argument that they could learn this skill at a tech school is short sighted. A BFA isn't just about learning to run a mouse around the desktop. In order for art/animation/or any other creative form to be more than just copying what was done before, it must be informed by cultural literacy. That is why this program excels. BYU is able to offer graduates that aren't just technically proficient, but also well traveled, well read, well schooled. It is the difference between an architect and a draftsman, a physician's assistant and a doctor, a studio musician and a composer. This doesn't even touch on the necessity for understanding the technology not just as a tool but to a depth that allows them to push for even more innovation. Think private pilot vs test pilot...one is more likely to have the experience to say, "hey, why don't we try this...it's never been done before, but I think if we just..." THAT's what makes Pixar the best in the business, and it is what they are looking for in an animation program.

I think it is worthwhile for us all to look at where we spend out time and money (in this case, Walt suggests that Animation may not be the place for BYU to invest). But I would say, other than the comments about external funding for the program, that the animation program serves, as the football program and others, as a recruiting tool. The animation program is a complete and continuing success and many high school students recognize that a successful animation program means that the arts and sciences are alive at BYU. Even if the student has no intention of applying for the Animation program, it serves a purpose.

The animation program has a very useful place at BYU for many reasons. Training a person for a job is only a small part of a university's mission. There are many skills taught at universities which could easily be (and often are) taught at tech schools. The university may, or may not, teach those skills as well as or better than the tech schools do, but that misses the point. University students not only learn skills necessary to get a job, they receive an education that hopefully makes of them a more creative, informed, well-rounded individual. Education has great value completely apart from the ability to get a job. This is true even for humanities majors. I never spent a single day working in the field in which I received my undergrad degree at BYU, and I am still very grateful for that education. I took interesting courses from interesting professors that continue to affect my life 30 years later for reasons that have nothing to do with my profession. Why can't we just value education for the sake of education?