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History of the Department

Dating back to the debut of The Biola Hour radio broadcast in 1922, Biola University has had a rich history in mass media. Located just 25 miles from the “Entertainment Capital of the World”, the school soon recognized its unique opportunity to train students for this influential field.

The history of the Film Department at Biola goes back to the 1955. At this time Biola’s main campus was still in Downtown Los Angeles. Biola was so committed to creating films to spread the gospel in churches worldwide that they created “The Biola Film Department” for which they purchased a location in Buena Park, CA, 30 miles away from Biola's downtown campus. The department was run by Virgil Wemmer. Along with Dr. Louis Talbot, the Dean of Biola, they and produced films with a Christian message. One of their best known films is Crisis in Morality. By 1960 the film department was under the Outreach and Service Department.

Through the years, Biola’s Film Department became increasingly important to churches and other Christian organizations in the Southern California Area. Through this Department, ministries were able to obtain missionary and Biblical films at a reasonable cost. (1) The majority of these films were made by Dr. Louis Talbot. According to Louis Talbot's biography, For This I Was Born, Talbot produced about 22 missions films around the time of the 1950s.

The School of Film and Television

The Department of Speech was eventually renamed the Department of Communications, and classes in film and television were offered for the first time in 1971. At this time Biola had relocated from its campus in downtown LA to a new campus in La Mirada, CA, about 10 minutes from Buena Park, CA where the orginal film department was founded.

Tom Nash was hired to pioneer a program in radio, television and film and patiently grew the department while introducing Biola to Hollywood industry professionals for their support. The Studio Task Force was soon established, and their contribution helped fund the building of the Production Center on the McNally campus - and the value of the students' education.

In 2003, Craig Detweiler became Chair of the new Mass Communication Dept MCOM. and expanded the program by doubling the existing faculty, which included 2 professors dedicated to Journalism. The Biola Media Conference, hosted by the department, grew to be the largest national conference for Christian entertainment professionals working in mainstream media. In 2007, under interim Chair Lisa Swain, Journalism separated as their own department. The MCOM department was renamed Cinema and Media Arts CMA. In 2008, the CMA welcomed current Chair, Jack Hafer. Today Biola interns and alumni work within every level of the entertainment industries. With the completion of the Production Center in 2009, Biola remains firmly committed to equipping the next generation of faithful film, television and digital media makers to impact the world for Christ.