Jordan Kerner
Dean, School of Filmmaking, North Carolina School of the Arts
In September 2007, Mr. Kerner accepted the position of dean of the School of Filmmaking at the North Carolina School of the Arts. Mr. Kerner began his career in the entertainment industry working in various capacities for San Francisco CBS affiliate KPIX-TV. He relocated to Los Angeles and worked in the Motion Picture Department of Ball, Hunt, Brown and Baerwitz, a Beverly Hills law firm. Two years later, Mr. Kerner joined CBS as a talent and program negotiator in the network’s Business Affairs Department. From 1978 to 1981, he held positions in development at Universal and QM Productions, until moving to ABC Entertainment as director of dramatic series development. He became vice president of that division in 1983. In 1986, Jordan Kerner and Jon Avnet formed The Avnet/Kerner Company, a production entity that developed socially relevant and family-oriented motion pictures and television movies, series and mini-series. In the fall of 2001, the company split into two independent film entities: The Kerner Entertainment Company and Brooklyn Films.
Mr. Kerner is a former governor of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Beverly Hills Bar Association Barristers. He is the founder and former co-chairman of the Committee for the Arts of the Beverly Hills Bar Association, an organization providing legal aid to indigent performing artists, with educational programs and speakers for actors, writers, museums and visual artist groups. He currently is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the Producer’s Guild and The American Film Institute.
Mr. Kerner was named the Producer of the Year by the Hollywood Entertainment Museum at its 2006 Legacy Award Event. He has won numerous awards over the years including The Critics Choice Award, The Christopher Award, The Gemini Award, A Reel Award, the Cable Ace Award, National Education Association Award, The Environmental Media Award, Truly Moving Picture Award, The Fresh Tomato Award, a number of Movieline Awards, and Golden Reel Awards. His films have received nominations for Academy Awards, Emmy Awards, Golden Globe awards, DGA Awards, WGA Awards, The Humanitas Award, NAACP Award, The Diversity Award, The Golden Satellite Award, The Art Directors Guild Award and Visual Effects Society Awards.
A 1972 graduate of Stanford University, Mr. Kerner received a degree with distinction and honors in Political Science and Communications. He then earned a JD-MBA degree from the University of California at Berkeley and San Francisco in 1976, serving on the Law Review and founding COMM/ENT, the Journal of Communications and Entertainment Law. Mr. Kerner currently resides in Winston Salem with his wife, Nicola O’Shea, their daughters, Haley, Grace and Lily; a chocolate lab named Charlotte; and a cat named Lucy.
[Mr. Kerner’s full biography can be found at http://www.ncarts.edu/filmmaking/dean.htm]
