Interim Dean Brian Kite Appointed Dean of UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television

Dear Colleagues:

I am pleased to announce that UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television Interim Dean Brian Kite has been appointed dean. He will serve through June 2025. A search will launch in early 2024 for a new dean to assume office on July 1, 2025.

Serving as interim dean since January 2020, Dean Kite has played a pivotal role in steering TFT through pandemic operations in collaboration with campus and school leadership. His efforts have been concentrated on enhancing the presence and retention of faculty of color at TFT and across the campus, as well as amplifying support for students of color. Additionally, he has successfully obtained resources for significant infrastructure improvements and has worked with faculty, staff, students and alumni to bring meaningful alterations to the curriculum and student experience.

Dean Kite previously served as TFT’s special academic senior associate dean and chair of the Department of Theater. During his tenure as chair, the department initiated the Hearst Playwright-in-Residence program, which brought Pulitzer Prize-winning playwrights such as Paula Vogel and Nilo Cruz to campus. He also successfully guided the department through its national re-accreditation process and achieved a significant increase in summer program participation, which rose by more than 200 percent.

Before joining the UCLA faculty in 2015, Dean Kite was the producing artistic director of La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts and directed many of its critically acclaimed productions, including Spring Awakening, American Idiot, Billy Elliot, Les Misérables, Dinner with Friends, and Proof. Under his innovative leadership, La Mirada Theatre saw tremendous growth in both revenue and prestige. Dean Kite recently helmed the production of the new musical Irena, which premiered in Warsaw this past Spring.

Chancellor Block and I are grateful for Brian’s leadership and look forward to all that he will continue to accomplish for UCLA TFT. Please join us in congratulating him on this new appointment. We also look forward to partnering with Brian and the TFT community to identify candidates and priorities for the new dean.

Sincerely,

Darnell Hunt
Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost