The College of Fine Arts and Communications congratulates members from faculty for their rank and status advancements
Every year, BYU appreciates and recognizes the efforts of our hardworking faculty. This year, thirteen outstanding faculty have received rank and status advancements in the College of Fine Arts and Communications. Art Department: Tara Carpenter Estrada | Continuing Faculty Status | Associate Teaching Professor
Along with teaching art education classes on campus, Estrada creates mixed-media and ceramic art. Her creative work has been featured at national and international exhibitions and she frequently presents her pedagogy research. She also mentors student presentations at prestigious conferences like the National Art Education Association and International Society for Education through the Arts. She is also the director of BYU Jumpst(Art), a series of workshops for students in K-12. School of Communications: Clark Callahan | Professor
Callahan received a PhD in communication from the University of Oklahoma (2002), an M.A. from West Texas A&M (1995) and a BA in communications from BYU (1995). He teaches courses in intercultural and international communication, theory and research methods. He has served as editor for Comparative Cultures and Civilizations for Hampton Press and is an editorial board member for several other communication journals. Callahan has previously consulted for the United States Department of Defense, the Internal Revenue Service, the state of South Dakota and several other regional and local government organizations. Scott Church | Continuing Faculty Status | Associate Professor
Scott Church received his PhD in 2013 from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He teaches courses in popular culture, business communication, public speaking, public discourse, music and media studies. His research primarily uses critical theory, aesthetics and media ecology as analytic lenses for social media and mediated popular texts. His recent research has been published in The Information Society, The Journal of Information Technology & Politics, The Routledge Companion to Remix Studies and the upcoming book Ancient Rhetorics + Digital Networks. Kevin John | Continuing Faculty Status | Associate Professor
John received his bachelor’s degree at BYU in 2007, emphasizing in public relations. After an internship in Washington, D.C., John returned to BYU to continue his education. He received his master’s degree in mass communication in 2009 and resumed the work he had started in the BioComms Lab. In 2011, John was invited to return to the School to serve as Director of the BioComms Lab. John completed his PhD in 2015 at the University of Utah and worked as a project coordinator for an NIH-funded R01 grant that focused on improving end-of-life and bereavement outcomes among cancer caregivers. Department of Dance: Keely Song Glenn | Candidacy for Continuing Faculty Status | Assistant Professor
Glenn received her MFA in dance from the University of Iowa and was awarded the prestigious Dean’s Graduate Fellowship. Previously, she graduated from Interlochen Arts Academy and after high school received her BA in dance education from Brigham Young University. As a teacher, Glenn is invested in highlighting and honoring the individual artist and preparing each one to be an engaged artist and citizen in the community beyond BYU. Her recent dance film Air Transit is an environmental dance advocacy film promoting the use of public transit. Amy Jex | Candidacy for Continuing Faculty Status | Assistant Professor
For more than 20 years, Jex has taught in many educational settings—both private and public. She received her MA in dance from BYU in 1998. Jex is the artistic director for Traditionz, a cultural dance outreach performance ensemble and serves as co-chair of the Cultural Dance Area. Amy’s research interests include pedagogy, dance history, Ukrainian dance, character dance and tap dance. She serves on the board of the National Folk Organization and is a member of the National Dance Education Organization. Outside of BYU, Amy has been a guest instructor, presenter, adjudicator and choreographer for Regional Dance America-Pacific, UDEO, Mountain West Ballet, CID-UNESCO and many school and church groups. School of Design: Robert Machoian Graham | Continuing Faculty Status | Professor
Teaching photography and the moving image is a passion for Robert. Since finishing graduate work at UC-Davis, his creative works have been honored by many prestigious film festivals, including Sundance, Atlanta Film Festival, CPH:DOX, Aspen Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival, South by Southwest and many others. His most recent short, The Killing of Two Lovers, was accepted into the Sundance film festival. David Habben |Candidacy for Continuing Faculty Status | Assistant Professor
Habben received his BFA in Illustration from Brigham Young University in 2006 and was a Children’s Book Design Fellow at Chronicle Books in 2008. In 2017, he earned his MFA in Studio Art, with a Graphic Design emphasis, from the University of Utah. His work can be found in a wide variety of media, including children’s books, magazines, advertising campaigns, theatre posters and even snowboards. His work has received awards from 3x3 Creative Quarterly, Communication Arts and Graphis Magazine. In 2019, he published his first authored and illustrated children’s book, “Mr. Sherman’s Cloud” through Page Street Publishing. School of Music: Jason Bergman |Continuing Faculty Status | Associate Professor
A highly active educator, Bergman was trumpet professor at the University of North Texas College of Music and in 2018 joined the music faculty of the Brigham Young University School of Music as Associate Professor of Trumpet. During summers, Bergman teaches at the Idyllwild Arts Chamber Fest in California. He has performed throughout the United States, South America, Europe and China. He is currently a member of the Orchestra at Temple Square where he performs weekly with the renowned Tabernacle Choir in Salt Lake City. He earned an MM and DMA at the University of Michigan and a BM at Brigham Young University and is an artist-clinician for Bach trumpets. Andrew Crane | Professor
Crane served for four years as Director of Choral Activities at East Carolina University and six years in the same position at California State University, San Bernardino. He is also the former choral director at Provo High School. Choirs under his direction have appeared by invitation at multiple conferences of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), National Association for Music Education (NAfME), and National Collegiate Choral Organization (NCCO). Recent such performances include the 2017 NCCO biennial conference in Baton Rouge and the 2019 ACDA national conference in Kansas City. Aaron Merrill | Continuing Faculty Status | Associate Teaching Professor
Merrill is an award-winning composer, music producer and sound engineer whose work can be heard in hundreds of productions around the globe. He has created music and sound for a wide variety of movies, television shows, commercials, corporate films, video games, audio programs and other multimedia projects. His work has earned more than 40 awards including two regional Emmys® and multiple Cine® and Telly® awards. Alex Woods | Professor
Woods is a violinist, baroque violinist and violist, in high demand as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral leader. He has performed with groups such as New York Baroque Incorporated (NYBI), the Helicon Foundation, the Sebastians, the Talea Ensemble, the Orchestra at St. Luke’s (New York) and the Utah Symphony. Woods is the founder and director of the BYU Baroque Ensemble, an early music chamber orchestra performing on original instruments created by the Violin Making School of America. He is also a member of the Faculty ensemble the Deseret String Quartet. Brent Yorgason | Continuing Faculty Status | Associate Professor
Yorgason specializes in music theory and aural skills. He received his PhD in music theory from Indiana University in 2009 and has presented his research in numerous regional, national and international conferences. He recently co-edited a collection of articles entitled Form and Process in Music, 1300-2014 for Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Yorgason has also helped to develop online music fundamentals courses for Indiana University (Music Fundamentals Online) and Connect4Education (OnMusicFundamentals). Congratulations to each of these wonderful professors who make the BYU experience meaningful and successful for their students and colleagues.