Historically Black Wiley College in Marshall, Texas, has received approval from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to establish a bachelor of arts degree program in film and theatre. The program will be named for Wiley College trustee and Summer Film Institute founder, Nate Parker.
Parker is a longtime supporter of Wiley College. His relationship with the college began when he appeared in the 2007 film “The Great Debaters,” based on the 1930s Wiley College debate teams. In January 2016, he founded the Nate Parker Summer Film Institute. Now in its fourth year, the program has served close to 200 college students and high school seniors from around the United States.
The new bachelor program will begin recruiting students for the 2020-2021 academic year. In the meantime, Wiley plans to renovate the theater in the Wiley Pemberton Complex.
