The April episode of Southern Oregon University's Faculty & Staff Spotlight podcast is a conversation with Greg Grano, an adjunct faculty member in SOU's Digital Cinema program – and traveling storyteller.
Grano took a 60-day roadtrip around the U.S. – visiting 30 states – staying with and interviewing people he met on the journey, then produced the documentary "American Bear, an Adventure in the Kindness of Strangers." He later walked diagonally across the country, from Imperial Beach, California, to Lubec, Maine, and is currently writing a book about that adventure.
Courses he has taught at SOU include "Reality on Your Screen," "Production Arts: Audio" and "Production Arts: DSLR Video." He also teaches in the Digital Media program at Ashland Middle School.
Previous teaching assignments for Grano have included Rio Hondo College, Fullerton College and the Los Angeles High School for the Arts.
He received his bachelor of fine arts degree in Film and Television from New York University and his master's degree in Cultural Foundations of Education from Syracuse University.
He grew up in New Jersey, then gravitated toward the Southern California film industry following college. After his walk across the country, he felt ready for a move to Ashland to join his partner, who had come to SOU for grad school. He enjoys hiking the local trails, gardening, cooking and even roasting his own coffee.
Grano is interviewed in this 15th installment of "Faculty & Staff Spotlight," an SOU News podcast series in which a student multi-media host in SOU's Office of Communications shines a light on SOU faculty and staff members who make an impact on students and their campus community. This year's podcast host is Codi Kirksey, a Media Innovation major from Ashland.
