A new series at CSUN will venture through creativity in business success starting Nov. 17 and continuing through next year. The series will focus on business success coming from the creative pursuit, thought or direction.
“This is the dean’s vision to bring in students not only from our college but from across the campus to listen to these people who are truly role models in the area of creativity and business success,” said Andrea Reinken, director of development for CSUN’s Mike Curb College of Arts, Media and Communication, which is sponsoring the series.
Award-winning architect and VPAC designer Kara Hill will return to her creation with industrial designer and strategic marketing expert Tom White and Oscar-nominated filmmaker Don Hahn for a free series that will continue into next year, according to a news release.
The series is designed to recognize the contributions of “a new breed of professional whose distinctive path has defined a new vision of commercial success and creative leadership,” Robert Bucker, dean of the Mike Curb college, said in a news release.
Hill, who is also an architectural historian, will speak from 7-9 p.m. on Nov. 17. As the principal of Kara Hill Studio, an architecture firm based in Minneapolis, Hill’s VPAC design earned LEED Gold certification for energy-efficient design and features, according to a news release.
“When she designs a building, it’s a creative endeavor and it, hopefully, leads to a very successful outcome that brings community to the Valley Performing Arts Center,” Reinken said.
White graduated from CSUN in 1978, and will return on Feb. 16 to speak from 7-9 p.m., according to a news release.
White founded 3DI2, a firm that influences the buying decision of consumers, in 1990 and then was called on by Fortune 500 leaders to oversee brand transformation programs for companies, such as Motorola, Volvo and Philips, according to a news release.
Don Hahn, an Oscar-nominated producer, will close the series April 26 from 7-9 p.m. Also a CSUN graduate, Hahn started his career in animation working as an assistant director for Disney on “The Fox and the Hound,” according to a news release.
He progressed quickly. In 1991, he became the producer for “Beauty and the Beast” and was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar. In 1994, he produced “Lion King,” which set a worldwide box office record for an animated film and became the highest grossing traditionally animated film in history, according to a news release.
“We’d like to bring people who have been very successful in their careers to the campus for our students to hear and to benefit from what they have to say about their own careers,” Reinken said.
Students that are preparing themselves for a competitive job market seem especially interested in the event.
“So frequently, in the business school, you’re told that there’s specific processes for everything. It would be really illuminating to see something more creative and it’s definitely helpful in any other major,” said Yelena Markaryan, senior marketing major.
Other students, like Caesario Pradikta, senior finance major, have been put in scenarios that require creative problem solving.
“It has a lot to do with budgeting. For example, if a company already has a telephone contract with a different company, there might be better deals where you might be able to refinance and help the company save money,” Pradikta said. “As a business major you always have to be innovative and try and get new ideas, see a problem and try and solve it in different ways, especially if you want to be an entrepreneur.”
