PALM DESERT, CA —College of the Desert (COD) is pleased to announce a major development in the planning
of the COD West Valley Campus in Palm Springs.
The College has reached agreement with DIGICOM CEO David Vogel to have DIGICOM work
with us to plan and create a Regional Center for Digital Media Education as the cornerstone
of our West Valley Campus.
DIGICOM, in its 10-year association with Palm Springs Unified School District (PSUSD),
has garnered national, statewide, and regional recognition as a best practice in providing
training and education in digital media and digital storytelling. DIGICOM and its
faculty have agreed to partner with COD in incorporating PSUSD and other K-12 and
higher education faculty to help design both the instructional space and a broad menu
of career pathway programs, degrees and certificates that build on existing K-12 and
higher education efforts in digital media.
It is our intention to fully engage the business community in the creation of this
center to ensure that our students are provided with workplace experience in the application
of digital media and digital storytelling to a variety of industry clusters in the
region.
Over the coming months, we will also reach out to our university partners in the region,
including California State University San Bernardino (CSUSB), UC Riverside and UC
Irvine to strategically incorporate upper division and graduate level programming
and research initiatives in digital media. Collectively, we will create a center at
which students in the region who are interested in digital media have a viable “next
step” in their academic and career path.
As a Community College, COD has a long and distinguished history of linking with public-
and private-sector partners to create academic- and career-themed programming that
is vital to the growth of our region and our workforce.
The development of the Regional Center for Digital Media Education will serve as a
focal point for the study and application of digital media in today’s society and
as the next chapter in College of the Desert’s service to our region.
“We are very excited to partner with former Disney Studios executive and local philanthropist
David Vogel to help COD create a centerpiece of our West Valley Campus that is focused
on digital media, which has become an emerging industry locally, nationally and worldwide,”
stated Dr. Joel L. Kinnamon, COD Superintendent/President.
“By linking with DIGICOM and our regional partners in K-12, higher education, and
the private sector, we can provide a vital pathway for students across the valley.”
“It is an honor for me and for our DIGICOM team to be included by Dr. Kinnamon in
shaping the design of facilities and delivery of digital media education at the COD
West Valley Campus,” David Vogel stated.
“We will throw everything we have into helping COD create something very special and
we look forward to working alongside his faculty and our colleagues in K-12 and university
education, as well as private-sector partners throughout Southern California. My career
with Walt Disney studios taught me to ‘dream big’ and that is what we will do with
College of the Desert.”
About College of the Desert:
Established in 1958, College of the Desert (COD), located in Palm Desert, is an accredited
community college serving eastern Riverside County, California. The College leads
the region in providing quality, higher education, technical training and lifelong
learning opportunities, in response to the dynamic needs of our diverse community.
The College serves more than 15,000 students each year and is the number one source
of transfer students to California State University, San Bernardino Palm Desert Campus.
For more information, visit www.collegeofthedesert.edu.
About DIGICOM Learning:
Established in 2008 and founded by David Vogel, retired president of the Walt Disney
Motion Picture Group, DIGICOM Learning is a private / public partnership (501(c)3)
that inspires children’s passion to learn by teaching them how to make short films
about their school work, lives, and the world around them. Learning the art of Digital
Storytelling empowers students and enhances their sense of self, engages them in their
learning process, and expands their ability to communicate with the world they live
in. This completely revolutionizes the educational experience. It also gives students
the ability to participate in the 21st century workforce as content providers for
all video communication needs in every major industry.
DIGICOM Learning has been utilizing its unique methodology and curriculum to re-engage
students by working one on one with students, presenting in classrooms, and teaching
about 400 teachers in the Palm Springs Unified School District. Now partnering with
College of the Desert, as well as UC Irvine and UC Riverside, DIGICOM is a certificated
and researched program that proves that its teaching has already changed the lives
of more than 50,000 students. For more information, please visit www.digicomlearning.org