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Bostonia

BU Los Angeles Has Grown Up Fast

Almost three quarters of alumni have jobs in the business

Nearly 12 years after the launch of the Boston University Los Angeles Internship Program (BULA), many of the founders, students, and faculty came together on February 3 to celebrate: (from left) Larry Weinberg, an entertainment attorney and a BULA lecturer, Randi Siegel, a talent manager and a BULA lecturer, Jere Hausfater, a motion picture executive and attorney and a BULA lecturer, Hugo Shong (COM’87, GRS’90), a BU trustee and publishing executive, Bruce Feirstein (COM’75), a writer (James Bond films and Vanity Fair) and BU overseer, Marcia Lewis Smith, a television producer and BULA lecturer, Thomas Fiedler (COM’71), dean of the College of Communication, Deborah Baron, a writer and a BULA instructor, George Lilly, a broadcasting executive, Ben Laski, an entertainment attorney and a BULA lecturer, Jay Roewe (COM’79), HBO production executive and a BU overseer, and Bill Linsman, BULA director and a COM associate professor of film and television.

More than a decade after its launch, the Boston University Los Angeles Internship Program, part of BU Study Abroad, is thriving.

What began as a dream for College of Communication alumni working with Study Abroad is now, 12 years and 1,700 students later, a major contributor to the education of students seeking academic internships and class study in the capital of entertainment.

To mark that achievement, many of the founders came together on February 3 to celebrate, reminisce, and schmooze. The group included broadcast executive George Lilly, HBO executive Jay Roewe (COM’79), television producer and teacher Marcia Lewis Smith, and writer Bruce Feirstein (COM’75). Also on hand: BU trustee Hugo Shong (COM’87, GRS’90), COM Dean Thomas Fiedler (COM’71), COM Associate Dean Steve Schaefer, and numerous students and faculty.

During Fiedler remarks, he noted that the program has earned an excellent reputation over the years and that incoming freshmen are now choosing BU so they can attend the program in L.A.

“L.A. kids can get both a BU education and the skills they need to return to L.A. after graduation, ready to pursue careers,” said Fiedler. “It’s the best of both worlds.” Quoting the late Vaclav Havel, he said, “Vision is not enough; it must be combined with venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps, we must step up the stairs.”

Two proclamations were unveiled, one from the mayor of Los Angeles and the other from the BU Alumni Association and Study Abroad.

Program director Bill Linsman and associate program director Clare Gillmore Le, reported that more than 72 percent of BULA’s alumni are working in entertainment and media.

BULA continues to have record-breaking enrollments. The 2015 spring semester program has 93 students, including 65 undergrads from the COM film and television department and 9 master’s degree candidates in the COM media ventures program. The program also has students from the School of Management, the College of Arts & Sciences, the College of Fine Arts, and from other colleges and universities.