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New Faculty and Staff Welcomed to the College of Fine Arts and Communications

The college welcomes new faculty and staff for the 2020-2021 Academic Year

BYU’s College of Fine Arts and Communications will begin the semester with nine new faculty and six new staff. Faculty The new full-time faculty include Kevin Anthony, Angela Rosales Challis, Jason Freeman, Jihea Hong-Park, Adeena Lago, Nathan Lindsay, Ashley Parov, Brent Wells and Jennifer Youngs. ImageKevin Anthony | Assistant Professor | School of Music Anthony is a music composer, electronist, vocalist, artist, designer and a pursuer of creative technologies. He earned a Bachelor of Musical Arts at BYU-Idaho and a Master of Arts in music composition from BYU. He is also earning his doctorate degree at the University of California, Irvine, in integrated composition, improvisation and technology. Anthony has researched and worked in digital signal processing and spectral analysis, artificial intelligence, sensor circuitry, animation and illustration, non-verbal communication in virtual spaces, virtual reality and motion-to-music translation. He teaches classes in commercial music and composition and theory. ImageAngela Rosales Challis | Visiting Professor | Department of Dance Challis graduated from Brigham Young University in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in dance education. She is originally from Cochabamba, Bolivia, and is a dance educator and filmmaker. Challis was a member of BYU Kinnect Dance Company in 2003. After graduation, Challis was a Beverly Taylor Sorenson dance specialist in the Jordan School district for several years. In 2014, she received the Utah Art Educator of the Year award and in 2015 she received the Sorenson Legacy Awards for Excellence in Arts Education. In 2018, she graduated from the University of Utah with a Master of Fine Arts in Film and Media Arts and a certificate in Screendance. Challis will begin as a visiting instructor teaching dance courses in the fall. ImageJason Freeman | Assistant Professor | School of Communications Freeman earned his Bachelor of Arts in communications: advertising from BYU in 2013 and a Master of Arts in mass communications in 2017. He recently completed my doctoral work at Penn State University. Freeman spent three years working as an account executive in the New York City advertising industry. Freeman worked on brands including Campbell’s, Bank of America and SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment. He will be teaching two sections of the account management course. ImageJihea Hong-Park | Associate Professor | School of Music Hong-Park is a recitalist, educator, chamber musician, teaching artist and interdisciplinary arts collaborator. Before teaching at BYU, Hong-Park taught at The Juilliard School’s Evening Division for 14 years and was a lead teaching artist at the New York Philharmonic. Hong-Park earned her Bachelor of Music and her Master of Music at the Juilliard School. She is the associate professor of piano at BYU and will be teaching undergraduate and graduate piano courses.

Adeena Lago | Visiting Professor | Department of Dance Lago graduated with her Bachelor of Science in dance education from BYU in 1984 and her Master of Fine Arts in dance from the University of Utah in 1991. Lago has taught dance at both the high school and university level; she taught high school dance for 32 years, and has also taught at Utah State University, Weber State University and Salt Lake Community College. Lago won the Utah Association for Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance Outstanding Dance Educator in 1997, and the Utah High School Activities Association Drill Team Coach of the Year three times. She also won District Excel Outstanding Dance Educator in 2005 and the 2018 Sorenson Legacy Award for excellence as the Outstanding Dance Educator for the state of Utah. Lago will be teaching technique and theory, workshop, practicum and curriculum design dance courses and she will be assisting with student teacher supervision. ImageNathan Lindsay | Assistant Professor | Department of Design Lindsay earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts in animation from BYU in 2003. In 2014, Lindsay earned his Master’s of Fine Arts (MFA) in film and media arts from the University of Utah. Lindsay has animated for film, television, video games, theme park rides and commercials, and has worked for companies such as Disney, Universal and Marvel. Lindsay is currently a visiting instructor in the Department of Design but will start as a full-time assistant professor this fall. ImageAshley Parov | Assistant Professor | Department of Dance After dancing professionally for the San Francisco Ballet, Parov earned her Bachelor of Arts in Dance from BYU in 2009 and earned a Master of Fine Arts from Saint Mary’s College of California in 2016. She also was a principal guest artist dancer for three years in California and Moscow, Russia. She started as adjunct faculty at BYU in 2014, and was a visiting professor from 2015-2018. Parov will be teaching advanced ballet technique, pilates reformer and mat, and pas de deux. Parov is also one of the three artistic directors of Theatre Ballet. ImageBrent Wells | Associate Professor | School of Music Wells earned his Bachelor of Music Education: K-12 Choral. He earned his Master of Music in choral conducting at BYU. He earned his Doctor of Musical Arts in choral conducting at Michigan State University. Since 2011, Wells served as Director of Choral Activities at the College of Idaho in Caldwell and was a tenured professor there. He has been musical director of the Caldwell/Middleton Interfaith Choir as well as the Treasure Valley Millennial Choirs and Orchestra as well as guest clinician, adjudicator and lecture. He is the director of the BYU Men’s Chorus and Concert Choir and is an associate professor of choral conducting and ensembles. Wells will begin his full-time position this fall.

Jennifer Youngs | Assistant Professor | School of Music Youngs earned a Doctor of Musical Arts in performance and pedagogy and a Master of Music in performance and opera from the University of North Texas. She earned a Bachelor of Music in performance from the Conservatory of Music at University of the Pacific. Youngs is the winner of the Lois Alba Aria Competition, the Kansas City District of the Metropolitan Opera Council Auditions, the concerto competition at the University of North Texas, and a semi-finalist in the Loren Zachary Vocal Competition. Youngs will be joining the college as an assistant professor in vocal performance. College Staff New college staff include Maddison Colvin, Mandi Johnson, Marianne Overson, Othello Richards, Allison Shaw and Katie Tolman.

Maddison Colvin | Administrative Assistant | Department of Art Colvin started her art-centered career when she earned her BA in studio art at Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington. She then graduated from BYU with a Master of Fine Arts in 2013 and went on to work as an adjunct instructor and a visiting instructor at BYU before moving to Oregon in 2015. She has spent the past five years doing graphic design work, teaching, maintaining her artistic practice and co-directing the Tropical Contemporary art space. Colvin returned to BYU in May of this year. Her administrative duties include scheduling, marketing, hiring, student and faculty support, and advising graduate students.

Mandi Johnson | Ballroom Dance Program Coordinator | Department of Dance Johnson earned her bachelor's degree in 2001 at BYU in Family Science/Human Development. While on the Ballroom Touring Company at BYU, Johnson traveled to England, South Africa, China, Russia, Mongolia and Korea. Johnson coached various genres of dance, adjudicated for dance competitions, and managed a large studio. She started as the ballroom dance program coordinator in March.

Marianne Overson | Office Specialist | School of Music Overson graduated from BYU in 1993 in dietetics and worked in the Utah State Extension as a home economics assistant for a few years after her graduation. She served on her children’s high school choir’s booster board in Arizona for ten years and acted as president of the board for five of those years. Overson began working as a music office specialist for the School of Music in January. ImageOthello Richards | BioComms Lab Manager | School of Communications Richards graduated from BYU with a bachelor’s degree in communications with a broadcast journalism emphasis. Richards has worked for more than a decade in television news as a reporter and associate producer before returning to BYU in 2014 as a graduate student and full-time visiting instructor in the School of Communications. He taught news media classes and graduated in 2017 with a master’s degree in mass communications. Richards is completing his doctoral degree requirements from Texas Tech University and will begin his managerial position in the BioComms Lab this fall.

Allison Shaw | Administrative Assistant | Museum of Art Shaw graduated from BYU-Idaho with a Bachelor of Arts with an emphasis in art history in 2010. She moved to Utah in August of 2010 for an internship at the Springville Museum of Art and served as a curatorial intern there for a year. Before Shaw worked in the Museum of Art (MOA) at BYU, she worked in One-Stop (now Enrollment Services) and the Financial Aid Office. She started as the new administrative assistant at the MOA in September 2019. ImageKatie Tolman | Office Specialist | Theatre and Media Arts Department Tolman attended BYU-Idaho where she completed a bachelor’s degree in art in 2019 before moving to Provo. In February 2020, she started working as the graduate secretary and theatre assistant for the Theatre and Media Arts (TMA) Department. Tolman assists with class scheduling, scholarships, internships and hiring in addition to working with the Graduate Committee. The College of Fine Arts and Communications would also like to give their appreciation to the new staff assigned to our college within the building care and security offices including Ken Chandler, Devon Jensen and Tim Wilda. *If you have any additions to our 2019-20 full-time College faculty or staff, please contact Francie Jenson at (801) 422-9271.