Scriptwriter/Director and Member of Tisch Asia Faculty Appointed to Direct Singapore Campus
Tom Mangan Appointed Interim Chair of The International Media Producing Program
Pieter Aquilia
Mary Schmidt Campbell, dean of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and chair of the board for Tisch School of the Arts Asia, today announced that she has appointed Pieter “Pia” Aquilia as associate dean and site director for Tisch Asia.
Aquilia – who will hold the academic title of associate arts professor – will have responsibility for the academic, artistic, and administrative operations of Tisch Asia. In her new role, she will formulate, develop and implement academic planning, recruitment, and faculty leadership.
Dean Campbell said, “In seeking a new leader for Tisch Asia, we were looking for an individual with an eclectic set of qualifications: an extensive academic background, ties to Singapore, a commitment to developing the arts in Asia, industry experience, leadership skills, a commitment to the artistic endeavor we have created at Tisch Asia, and the vision and capacity to help shape its future. Pia has all of these in abundance. I have every confidence in her ability to strengthen the school, to sustain a commitment to excellence, and to build important links to the academic and artistic community in Singapore and the broader Asian region. I know I speak for the entire TSOA community when I congratulate Pia on her new assignment.
“I would also like to thank Mark Dickerman, who has served as Interim Associate Dean these past few months. He has provided forward-looking leadership for Tisch Asia over these past few months, and I am very grateful to him for all his efforts.”
Aquilia has worked in the film and television industry while also holding a variety of academic appointments over the past 20 years. Since 2009, Aquilia has taught TV Writing, Screenwriting, TV Comedy, and Film Collaboration at Tisch Asia, and will continue to teach in the Department of Dramatic Writing.
Aquilia holds a Doctor of Creative Arts (Feature Film) from the University of Technology Sydney, a BA (Writing and Direction) from the Australian Film Television and Radio School, and an MA (Film Writing and Direction) and BA (Creative Writing) from Curtin University.
She has an extensive background as a scriptwriter, script editor and director in film and television, including Life Stories (Singapore), Water Rats, Heartbreak High, Totally Wild and E Street (Australia). She is a regular consultant for television drama, dramatized documentary and news for broadcasters in Southeast Asia.
Aquilia has lived in Singapore since 2000. Until 2007, she was an assistant professor (Communications Hons.) for Nanyang Technological University, where she established the campus television station and recruited the top students from the region, culminating in an array of international student film prizes and festival selections. In 2007, she was appointed the head of media at the University of New South Wales Asia. In 2009, she was appointed associate professor/course coordinator for University of Newcastle Singapore, where she established television studio facilities, recruited faculty and established the Honors degree program (including 2 university medalists). She continues to supervise PhD students.
Aquilia is the author of books, chapters, and journal articles on the practice of film, television, and new media. Her research areas include the Media in Singapore and Southeast Asia (2002-2005), International Television Drama (2004), the Internet and National Elections (2006), and the Globalization of Screen Education (2011-2012).
Her novel, Daughters of the Mob, was the finalist for the 1997 Vogel Award for Literature. She has also won a range of awards, including AWGIE, ATOM and Asian Television Award nominations for her film, television and video work.
Dean Campbell also announced that Tom Mangan, assistant arts professor, was appointed interim chair of the International Media Producing program.
Thomas J. Mangan IV
Professor Mangan has taught at Tisch Asia since 2010, and he has produced or executive produced a number of films including: Somewhere Tonight (2010) starring John Turturro (a remake of Theo van Gogh’s film 1-900); Framed (TNT Network 2003), starring Rob Lowe and Sam Neill; Tumbleweeds (Winner of 1999 Sundance Film Festival Filmmaker’s Trophy), starring Janet Mcteer; Sunburn, starring Cillian Murphy; The Jack Bull (HBO), starring John Cusack; Colin Fitz premiered at the Sundance Film Festival 1998; Captive, starring Stanley Tucci; and Watch It (MGM), starring Peter Gallagher and Tom Sizemore. Tom recently entered development for a TV series with HBO on The Member-Guest with Clint McCown.
