Brent Simonds

A native of Holdenville, Oklahoma, Brent Simonds holds BA, MA, & EdD degrees and is a professor and the mass media program coordinator in the School of Communication at Illinois State University. He teaches documentary storytelling and other film/video related courses. His interests include visual communication, media ecology, and digital filmmaking (training, education, & documentary). He has won Telly, Aurora, and EMPixx Awards and his productions have also been recognized by the Broadcast Education Association, the National Broadcasting Society, and the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters. Before his academic career, Brent spent several years as a producer/director at local television stations (NBC & Fox Affiliates, Independents). He has produced more than 60 training and educational films for the United States Postal Service, Prentice Hall, Houghton-Mifflin Co., and St. Martin's Press. Two grant-funded educational documentary films are currently being distributed by "Films for the Humanities & Sciences."