DePaul Cinema’s loss of Irvine, Benedyck is UC’s gain

Matthew Irvine and Kristyn Benedyck

When DePaul University husband-and-wife academics Matthew Irvine and Kristyn Benedyck agreed to join the University of Cincinnati, school president Dr. Santa J. Ono was so pleased he Tweeted the announcement before their contracts were signed.

With contracts formally finalized on Monday and Irvine, a cofounder of DePaul’s School of Cinematic Arts and Benedyck, chair of the screenwriting department, will leave Chicago in a few weeks to start their new roles Aug. 15.

Irvine will be a professor and director of the Digital Media Collaborative, a new initiative designed to grow that area of media arts, as he did with DePaul’s Digital Cinema studies over a 10 year period.

The UC faculty chose Irvine for the position from a field of 1,000 applicants.  Benedyk was the first staff hire, as a tenured associate professor in the Digital Media Collaborative.

At UC presently, “Digital media is scattered here and there, and production has no central place. DePaul was like that when I came here 18 years ago,” says Irvine who founded the Digital Cinema program in 2005. 

“My job is to bring the elements together and structure a new school. It’s incredibly exciting to have the opportunity to build something new again.  I do have the experience, but I’m also nervous.”

Irvine’s contributions to the film school’s success

He shouldn’t be, as Irvine and Benedyck are acclaimed for their their innovative programs that elevated DePaul’s film school from non-existence to one of 25 of the best film schools in the US, according to The Hollywood Reporter’s 2014 list.

This September, DePaul’s largest incoming freshman class is majoring in film.

Given Irvine’s role in establishing DePaul’s film program and most recently leading the school’s alliance with Cinespace, “It’s no wonder that other institutions had their eye on Matt,” notes David Miller, dean of the College of Computing and Digital Media.

“The most important legacy of his tenure at DePaul is a talented student body and a large group of highly qualified and energetic faculty who will move the school to the next level of excellence,” he says.

DePaul will forever hold a place in Irvine’s heart, he says.  “I will remain devoted to its success, even if from afar. The Chicago filmmaking community has grown so much in the recent years, and I am truly grateful and honored to be a part of this journey.”

Irvine and Benedyck’s many DePaul accomplishments

Irvine’s many achievements include creating the first Cinematic Arts classes, the first degrees, graduate programs, the DePaul-Cinespace partnership and Project Bluelight where students learn hands-on a professional film set. 

Benedyck helped turn the School of Cinematic Arts into the top destination in the Midwest for aspiring writers. She created and produced the city’s annual screenwriting conference, the largest free and public conference of its kind in the US.

Benedyck has been working with her colleagues to assure the projects she’s been involved with continues to thrive. Nathan DeWitt will oversee the semi-annual Pitch Day and the Logline List by Chris Parrish.

Acting screenwriting program chair will be Matt Quinn, who runs the department’s LA Quarter program and is the school’s curriculum committee chair.

Brad Riddell, current program coordinator for the MFA Cinema degree – who dubbed the couple “the Bonnie and Clyde of film education” — will become the program coordinator for the MFA Screenwriting degree.

Irvine and Benedyck’s replacements have not as yet been made.