After last teaching his popular Business of Show Business class three years ago, Speech Prof. Peter Nichols will offer the course to NU students again Fall Quarter.
From Los Angeles.
Nichols, a prominent Los Angeles entertainment lawyer and 1978 Speech graduate, will not fly into Evanston each week to instruct the class as he did in fall 1998. Instead, he will come to class from his office in LA through video conferencing.
Communications Studies Prof. James Ettema said Nichols’ busy schedule, coupled with the high cost of weekly plane tickets, contributed to the school’s decision. Ettema, who will take care of day-to-day aspects of the class and grade papers, said the only way students will be able to learn from Nichols is if the class is held in the Frances Searle Building’s new teleconferencing room.
“Having this class offered to students is well worth the small sacrifice,” Ettema said. “We wouldn’t be able to do the class again unless we do it this way.”
Ettema also said Nichols’ knowledge of the entertainment industry and contacts with Hollywood executives can benefit students looking for careers in film.
“Nichols has a lot to offer students, and I’m happy he’s willing to teach this class again,” Ettema said. “It still is a big time commitment for him, even if he doesn’t have to fly out here for each session.”
In structuring the last course, Nichols brought film industry members with him to class as guest lecturers. Nichols said he is confident that he can increase the caliber of his guests for this year’s class because they won’t have to fly into Chicago and disrupt their schedules.
“The content of the class won’t change because of videoconferencing,” Nichols said. “It will be easier for guests to come to my conference room and lecture than to fly all the way to Chicago. I’m hoping to get a wider range of more and better guests.”
But Speech sophomore Kristi Robles said she would shy away from taking the class because the guests and professor would not be in front of her.
“The class sounds interesting, but I feel (that) not having a live professor would be a huge deterrent,” she said. “It seems like the best part would be meeting the people that Nichols brings in, but we wouldn’t have direct access to them.”
To alleviate concerns of limited access, Nichols is planning to attend the first and last few sessions of the class in person. He said losing the student-teacher relationship is a “real concern,” but said he was available to students last time while working in Los Angeles during the week.
Speech junior Richard Bina said he still feels the class will interest a fair number of students.
“Most students don’t meet or interact with their professors anyway,” Bina said. “I don’t think that is a big deal. If students benefit by having more experienced guests able to speak to them, then it is an appropriate use of teleconferencing.”
Bina also said he feels a class that encompasses business theory with experience in the field is needed in the School of Speech.
Ettema said although the class is offered through the communications studies department, he hopes to draw 80 to 100 students from across the school, attracting theater, performance studies and radio/television/film majors.
“This class should appeal to students who want to be creators in Hollywood and need to know how the business side works,” he said. “If students think the entertainment industry is interesting, it’s important for them to study it as a business.”
And Ettema said he believes Nichols is the perfect choice to teach students about the industry, whether from a classroom on campus or from Los Angeles.
“Peter is a very busy and well-known lawyer, but he’s also a supportive alumnus by donating his valuable time,” he said. “I think the fact that Peter is teaching this class again makes it even more worthwhile.”
