Stephen Galloway named dean of Dodge

Dodge College of Film and Media Arts has 167 faculty members. Stephen Galloway is determined to meet and listen to them all. 

“It’s terrible when an outsider comes in and says ‘I know better than you.’ I’ve been there, it’s horrible,” Galloway told The Panther. “I don’t want anybody to feel anxious or threatened. I want to learn from them.” 

Galloway, a veteran executive editor and producer for The Hollywood Reporter, will be joining Chapman in March as the new dean of Dodge. He will officially take over from interim dean Michael Kowalski, who has served since Robert Bassett’s spring 2019 retirement, on March 30. With respect for his predecessors, and his eyes set on an ever changing entertainment industry, Galloway has plans to guide the school into a new era. 

His goals include fostering a greater “osmosis” between Dodge and Hollywood, increasing  diversity amongst both faculty and students, modernizing the curriculum and expanding international opportunities. Steadfast in his respect for Bassett’s 23 years at Chapman, Galloway expressed both excitement and trepidation for his assumption of the role. 

“My very first rule coming in is to do no harm, which is why I want to speak with everyone,”said Galloway, who was selected after a national search. “Right now, I have to learn from you. I’m going in saying, ‘please support me, please tell me when I make mistakes.’”  

Galloway spent almost 30 years with The Hollywood Reporter, during which he created series including “The Hollywood Masters” and “Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter.” He also established the Women in Entertainment Mentorship program and the Young Executives Fellowship, in partnership with Oprah Winfrey, “to put a spotlight” on issues of gender and racial inequality. 

Dodge has been the center of racially charged protests and conversations about diversity on multiple occasions. From student protests centered around a displayed poster of the film “The Birth of a Nation” to concerns regarding screenwriter Max Landis – who was accused of sexual assault by at least eight women – speaking on campus, students have been at the forefront of bringing attention to charged topics. Although Galloway did not comment on “The Birth of a Nation,” as he was not at Chapman at the time, he says increasing diversity among both students and faculty is one of his main goals. 

“Women and people of color don’t see (the entertainment industry) as a path,” Galloway said. “On every level, because it’s right ethically and it’s right economically, there should be a lot more done to encourage these diverse communities to be thinking about the entertainment business.” 

Determined to expand not only Dodge’s diversity but its intellectual pursuits as well, Galloway hopes to use his time as dean to focus on expanding students’ knowledge of film history. 

“What a lot of people don’t understand is that it’s great to hold a camera and discover through doing, but the common language, the common currency among sophisticated people in the industry is the masterworks of the business,” Galloway told The Panther, pointing to a recent roundtable discussion he moderated for The Hollywood Reporter as an example. “For 10 minutes, Martin Scorsese and Noah Baumbach were talking about specific shots from movies of the past. Not stories, shots. This is the language you have to speak.” 

Galloway graduated from Cambridge and grappled with his early career path. He chose to come to the U.S. on a Harkness Fellowship, the British equivalent of a Rhodes Scholarship, over pursuing his doctorate. He  studied at the American Film Institute Conservatory before joining The Hollywood Reporter. His reporting with the magazine ranged from intimate profiles of actors like George Clooney to expository articles about Harvey Weinstein. 

In a Jan. 30 press release, The Hollywood Reporter’s editorial director Matthew Belloni called Galloway, “the heart and emotional soul” of the magazine, expressing his sadness of Galloway’s leaving, but also support of his new endeavor. 

“This is an exceptional film school, and a university that has been rising with a velocity that is really impressive,” Galloway said. “The first thing I’m going to do is set up a calendar and tell everyone to lock in a time for breakfast, lunch, coffee. Give me advice.”